The Thousand Year Curse
by JakeRoss2
Summary: A war that has been brewing for Milennia has been sparked. Jake Long, stripped of his dragon chi, is faced with tragedy as Rose is the victim of a thousand year curse, to which the cure may well be too steep a price to pay...Review PLEASE!
1. Prophecy

**The Wizard War: The Thousand Year Curse**

**Prologue**

**Rising Conflict...**

**In the aftermath of Dragon's Jake Long and Adren Karr's climactic battle, the powerful Dark Hunter rises as the unchallenged champion of the Huntsclan. Utilizing his dark power and his status as one of the world's most powerful wizards, he calls forth all dark wizards and dark magical creatures to him in an attempt to now take over the world.**

**He is an even greater threat than the Dark Dragons of the past, and an even more sinister foe than he himself once was. The Dark Hunter, Adren Karr, is now the High Wizard of the Order of Dark Wizards, and Supreme Commander of the Dark Armada. **

**The dragons of the world, still in disarray from the fight against the Dark Dragon three years prior, attempt to counter the Supreme Commander's threat with the joint co-operation of the Wizard community.**

**It would seem that not even the former American Dragon, Jake Long, the former champion of the Dragon Council and the world's dragons, will be able to stop him.**

**Thus start the Great War, the war between the Dragons...**

**...and the Wizards.  
**

**Chapter I: Prophecy**

_1033 Years Prior..._

Blood stained the ground. The disgusting stench of putrid flesh burnt and mangled beyond recognition lay charred in tatters across the land. The attack had lasted for less than ten minutes, yet the ferocity with which the young dragon had fought left no doubt who was more powerful. Between men, beasts and creatures of magic, few possessed the raw power of a dragon.

The sunlight from the rising sun touched his scales, Morfid, the Babylonian Dragon, stood with his back to the decaying soldiers. He had protected his charge, the magical creatures west of the Euphrates. Morfid was a unique dragon in many ways, his most unique feature; however, was the fact that he was the only dragon to be born with pitch black scales. He was dubbed by his peers as the Black Dragon.

Morfid shed his dragon form quickly, reverting into the handsome young man that he was. His olive complexion and thick luscious black hair made him desirable to most young women in the city. He, however, belonged to one and one alone.

He longed to be home with his family, away from this wretched life of guardianship. He wanted more. This, however, was his duty. He would not forsake it as long as he breathed. The young dragon, only twenty six years of age, was beyond exhausted. He was on the brink of death. Stretching his human arms and legs he fought the pain of the crippling disease that had taken his body four years prior. A disease to which there was only one cure. He shuddered at the thought, knowing that he could never exact that price from his people or the world.

A movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention; it was a little boy, possibly around seven or eight. His cute face was complimented by a little button nose, his vivid hazel eyes examined the older man with both fear and curiosity.

"What's your name my child," said Morfid.

The little boy dropped to the ground, as if hiding.

Morfid smiled and dusted at his tan garments, "Come now my child, I won't hurt you," he paused, as he stretched out a hand, "what is your name?"

The little boy looked up at the handsome young man and managed a small cautious smile, "Mandon, Morgan Mandon,"

Morfid smiled, "My name is Morfid,"

XX

_Present Day_

The cool evening breeze was a refresher to the fourteen year old dragon. She had taken how many years to train and become much better at what she was doing. It was now her responsibility to take care of New York, instead of her older brother Jake.

Haley Long, the American Dragon, sat in her dragon form atop the Empire State Building. It was with great sadness that she had to watch as her brother was demoted of his rank and stripped of his dragon powers once more; this time for love.

The World Dragon Council had always viewed Rose as a threat to the magical community; even after her assistance in the war against the Dark Dragon they simply did not trust her. After her brother had disobeyed a direct order from them _not _to go after her, and he made a blood pact with a Dark Wizard, their disciplinary action was harsh. Jake Long was to be stripped of his Dragon Chi for fifteen years.

Haley sighed; she was already drained after two years as the official American Dragon, and could not imagine thirteen more years of this impossible task. She heard a flapping of wings and turned to greet her dragon master, Sun Park.

The dragon master landed softly next to her, knowing what was on her pupil's mind.

"You miss him," said Sun softly.

Not only was Jake's dragon chi stripped from him, but he was forbidden to make contact with any member of his dragon powered family. Both she and her grandfather had not spoken to him in almost two years. Even though they lived in the same apartment, they were worlds apart.

"It isn't fair Sun," said Haley softly, "Jake saved everyone from the Dark Dragon, he saved those dragons from the Dark Hunter, why can't they overlook his faults and only see the good in him. He is a powerful dragon,"

"The most powerful in the world," amended Sun, as she reverted to human form.

Haley knew that ever since the Dragon Council's sentence against Jake, most dragons in the world were in uproar and against it. Some had even relinquished their position, in an act of defiance against them. No act, however, was enough for the council to reconsider their judgement. They viewed Jake's actions as reckless and constantly marred by bad judgement, as a punishment and protection to the others, he was now powerless from a dragon's point of view.

A sudden noise caught her attention, and Sun Park entered dragon form, instantly picking up on the danger.

"Let's go," said Sun.

Haley dove off the Empire State Building, pinning her wings close to her body she felt the adrenaline and magic pump through her as she rocketed downward. As she neared the bottom she flared her wings, allowing her to catch a draft of upward wind and glide towards the source of the commotion. Sun Park was only a wing-breadth away.

As they neared the dark alley from which the noise originated, Haley could already smell the blood. She landed carefully and grimaced, she hated the smell of blood.

A single being lay on the ground, it's body twisted and mangled, one of its ribs jutted unnaturally out of his chest. He was a leprechaun. He was dying.

Haley sped over to him, tears filling her eyes as she realised that she could do nothing for the poor creature but ease his passage into the void. She crouched next to him and reverted to human form, placing a comforting hand on the magical creature's chest.

The green clothed being opened his weak eyes and gripped the young dragons arm fiercely, the tint within his irises drained to red, "It is alive," he said as if in another voice, "_the prophecy is alive. The one who slashes at the other, the bloods that mixes to form another, the fight that shall be of only vengeance and bloodshed, and send the world into a century of darkness_," the leprechaun's body went limp, and his hand released Haley's arm.

Haley fell back, shocked at the words that had come forth from the leprechaun; she glanced back at her dragon master whose face was ashen, "What just happened Sun?"

Sun swallowed difficultly, "A prophecy was jus invoked,"

"What does that mean?" said Haley.

"It means," said Sun, "that we are all in very grave danger,"

* * *

**My Second AmDrag Fanfic, a sequel to The Last Hunter. Please Read and Review!!**

**JakeRoss2**


	2. Broken China

**Chapter II: Broken China**

His bedroom was cold.

Two years prior, the cold would have been much easier to handle with the magic of a dragon's blood flowing through him. The blood of a dragon still flowed; however, the magic of the dragon was stagnant. Unless someone killed him, he would forever be a dragon. But he no longer held the powers of abilities of one.

Jake Long, The nineteen year old Former American Dragon, the former champion of the dragons, was now a pitiful shell of his former self. He no longer held the powers or the prestige of his former office. He was like broken china, valuable, but no longer as valuable. He climbed out of bed and walked over to his window, the cold from the winter time made a light sheen of frost cover with incandescent radiance. Jake shuddered as he looked as his reflection in the glass window.

The 15 Year Sentence was the second most severe punishment that could be meted out to a dragon, short of execution. The most severe, Life Time Sentence was simply that. To live one's life without the aid of their dragon powers, they would have all the abilities and magical powers of a mere human. What they didn't talk about, however, was the fact that without one's dragon's power they slowly became sick and utterly dependant on other means of power.

Jake Long was sick.

He craved strength to do more than what he could, he was fighting the deadly withdrawal symptoms of his Dragon Chi. The deadliest truth that he learnt after going six months without his Chi, was that without it, a dragon would slowly go insane. Unless, of course, they found another means of strength, another source of power; a new high.

There was a soft knock on his door, he knew who it was.

"Come in," he said in a quiet tone, it was in the early morning hours and he had gone through every precaution to keep the rest of his family asleep, but it seemed as if all they did was sick and wait on his every need; the family that could talk to him anyway.

"Honey, you're up early," said his mother, she was dressed in a light blue bedroom robe; she ruffled his hair affectionately and gave him a long strong hug.

Jake almost broke down on the spot; it was more than three years since his father had been murdered by the Dark Dragon. It that time, Susan Long had endured the loneliness of being a single parent in these terrible times. Had it not been for Jake, who sacrificed his chance to go to a prestigious university so that he could take care of his family, she would have lost their apartment in the city.

"You know I can't sleep much these days mom," said Jake, he bit his quivering lips, "I am feeling it again,"

Susan frowned, "Your body is calling for your Dragon Chi?"

"No," said Jake, turning back to her, "my other powers are,"

"What of your trainings with Thrall?" said his mother.

Jake shook his head, "For the past three months Nigel has been occupied with an assignment by the Commission of Wizards, he hasn't had time to train me, besides, he has only been granted his full powers for two years, not half the time needed to be a teacher,"

"Then why don't you find someone else?" said Susan, she scratched at her chin.

"No one will train me mom," said Jake, "I'm an abomination,"

Susan's face fell, "You aren't an abomination Jacob,"

"Then what am I?!" he almost shouted, his heart was gripped with pain from missing his father, the withdrawal symptoms of his powers and the massive amount of magical energy that still rushed through his veins because of the pact that he made with Eli Pandarus. Eli's powers flowed through his veins, dark energies that needed taming and controlling. Yet everyone refused to train him, except his friend Nigel.

But Nigel had other duties and important assignments that kept him back. Jake wasn't upset with him, he knew that his situation was unique and respected him for his work. It was even worse when Spud and Trixie moved away because of Jake's uncontrolled powers that nearly throttled them to death one night. If Rose hadn't knocked him unconscious who knows what might have happened.

"You're my son," said Susan, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"And you're the love of my life," said a soft voice from the doorway.

Jake turned to see Rose; standing in her night gown she looked absolutely stunning. For the past six months she had moved in with the Longs in an attempt to help appease Jake's withdrawal symptoms. So far she had helped immensely, being there for him, especially in these hours.

She looked beautiful; her blonde hair was cut just above her shoulders in steps, her vivid blue eyes shone even at this early hour. She walked over to him and simply held him in her arms, she didn't say a word.

Rose didn't have to.

Rose hugged him tightly, and his mother hugged both of them together. And all three, son, mother and girlfriend, cried in unison and bled their hearts out together.

XX

The two trolls stood guarding the bridge to the Underworld, the small magical tavern where the vilest of creatures lay half drunk, half naked and half dead across the rum soaked tables, the bloody walls and sometimes rat infested food. The dragons and wizards had managed to capture most of the major crime bosses and crime lords of the magical community, leaving the grunt men without employment and without pay.

"I thought that Obama guy was supposed to help us out?" muttered a drunk Hob Goblin.

"No nitwit, he help the foolish mortals," responded his troll friend, he reeked of urine.

Two robed figures neared the entrance to the bridge, one slightly taller than the other, but still much smaller than the troll bouncers that blocked the entrance like living gates.

"No passage for mortals," said one slowly.

The taller figure paused for a moment, "We're not mortals,"

The other troll frowned, scratching his forehead with his large hands, "Still no passage, unless you pay toll,"

The shorter figure scoffed, "We're not paying any passage you disgusting troll,"

The two trolls swore and drew their clubs, "Well we just have to pay with your teeth then no mortals,"

The shorter figure shook his head, causing his black cowl to fall revealing a handsome young face and shoulder long black hair, "Not this morning trolls," he freed his hand to reveal a wand.

The trolls stopped dead in their tracks, "Sorcerers?"

The shorter young man shook his head once again in mock pity, "Worse, wizards,"

The concussion that hit the poor troll was so powerful that it literally tore him to pieces, bathing his partner in blood. The other bouncer was so shocked at the revealed identity of the strangers as well as the sudden explosion of his partner's body that he tried to backpedal into the tavern.

"Where do you think you're going?" said the young wizard, he stretched out his hand and held the troll in place with a light incantation, "you were rude to my friend and I,"

"Sorry, I, I, I am sorry wizard," whimpered the troll who now attempted to drop to his knees.

"Good," said the black-haired wizard, "take me to see the dragon,"

The troll's face filled with fear, "The, The dragon? No dragon here wizard, dragons not good for business,"

The young wizard shook his head once again, "I know that she's here troll, take us to her,"

The troll whimpered, "She kill me if I reveal her," he said dumbly.

The taller wizard pulled back his cowl to reveal a similarly handsome face, but with shaggy red-hair and light brown eyes, his accent was strong, "And I can do worse than what my friend did to your friend, what do you value more?" he paused, "Your life, or your body?"

The troll glanced at the terribly disfigured body of his former partner and quickly came to a decision despite his slowness, "I take you to see dragon,"

"Good," said the younger wizard with a sadistic smile, he turned to his partner, "I told you that we'd be able to get through to him,"

The older one grunted and affirmation, "Let's just get the dragon and get out of here,"

The younger wizard snickered, "Are you afraid of what could happen in there?"

The older wizard, who was not even twenty years old shook his head, "No, I'm afraid of what could happen to you. The High Commander would be highly displeased."

Elias Pandarus, the son of Eli Pandarus smiled back at his older companion, "Even though you're my senior, my raw powers still surpass yours,"

The older wizard sighed, "Only in your dreams Elias,"

The troll led the way.


	3. Invocation of Prophecy, Oaths of Destiny

**Chapter III: Invocations of Prophecy, Oaths of Destiny**

Canal Street Electronics was in business for over almost three decades, but had yet to see a single customer. It was a marvel that the business was still open, a marvel that was actually due to the gold that a Dragon Master was awarded for his work.

Luong Lao Shi, the former Chinese Dragon and dragon master of Jake Long, sat in cross-legged meditation within the confines of his inner sanctum. He could hear Fu Dog, his faithful Animal Guardian, watching a Sit-Com features mermaids and mermen. It perturbed him that he could be so inconsiderate of his present predicament, but sighed in acceptance, knowing that he would want no other friend or guardian.

The door of the store was thrown open, and both Haley Long, his granddaughter and Sun Park, her dragon master, entered in a hurry.

"A prophecy has been invoked Lao Shi," said Sun, panting.

Luong's eyes widened, "By who?"

"A leprechaun," said Sun solemnly.

Haley looked confused, "What's the big deal if it was a leprechaun,"

Fu Dog pattered into the room, alarmed at the news, "Kid, Invocations of prophecies, done by someone who is NOT an oracle, is always a bad thing," he pawed at a book on the shelf and brought it down, the opened book shimmered lightly as an almost holographic image appeared, it featured the semi-beautiful Oracle of Delphi, "oracle's blood, the blood that can see, allows them to naturally foresee events that are to come," the oracle's face grew smaller as an almost mile long family tree quickly dotted before her, "after a few thousand years, the bloodlines thin and we end up with less than powerful oracle twins like Sara and Cara. However, ALL magical creatures have the gift of foresight, linked with their seventh eye,"

"Their seventh eye?" said Haley, in disbelief, she blinked, "I only have two,"

Fu's face twisted into mock annoyance, "Pay attention kid," he grunted, "always the same, same thing with the other kid," he muttered beneath his breath, "can't let me finish my sentence,"

Haley cleared her throat, "I'm sorry Fu,"

Fu Dog smiled, "Thank you, now where was I? Oh yea, now every single creature that has the blood of magic within them, has the _potential _to prophecy, however, a prophecy is only _invoked_ or seen, when certain events have transpired that will lead to one of two plausible outcomes,"

Fu Dog's face fell dramatically, "The simple truth of the matter though, is that invocations only occur in times of great distress,"

"What do you mean?" said Haley, almost spellbound with his every word.

"Well, leprechauns are the beings with the weakest connection with their seventh eye, for them to actually have a prophecy invoked means that it was in a time of almost unimaginable distress," replied Fu, scratching himself for fleas.

Haley's face remained unchanged.

"I mean, that the only three other times that prophecies were invoked were at the Great Dragon War, The Dark Ages, and the war between the Wizards and the Centides," said Fu.

"The Centides?" said Haley with a frown, "never heard of them,"

"Exactly, because after that war," said Lao Shi with sad eyes, "they were extinct,"


	4. An Offer You Can't Refuse

**Chapter IV: An Offer You Can't Refuse**

The two wizards were collected and cool as they entered Underworld, the uncaring patrons simply gave them scant courtesy and a wide berth, knowing what had happened outside with the second Troll bouncer.

Their whimpering troll guide took them to a back room, where a figure was seating behind a thick curtain of silk. The silhouette of the feminine being was blurred by the magical properties of the silk.

"Why are you here?" said the woman.

Elias glanced at his teacher, who nodded in approval, they both could feel the magic radiating from the inner room, "Come on Chang, we know you're in there,"

The woman scolded and burst through the curtain, lunging for the door.

"_Simply minding, hit her binding_!" said Elias, his spell wrapped around the chi-less dragon and was repelled by an invisible force, "what the-," he felt his spell reflect, wrapping him in invisible chains.

"Silly wizards," said Chang, the former Dragon Council member and second in command to the Dark Dragon himself, "as if I couldn't defend myself,"

The taller wizard smiled, "Not against me," his eyes glowed, "_Seal her tightly, in this brightly_,"

Chang's eyes widened as she felt the light in the room itself begin to cave in on her, "How can you command the light?" felt her body constrict on itself, pinning her in place, "and how are you so powerful?"

"I'm not that powerful," he muttered, "I just have a lot of experience with powerless dragons with even more power than you,"

"But how do you-,"

The taller wizard titled his head slightly in amusement, "I grow tired of your words. _Without a doubt, shut her mouth_,"

Chang was speechless, in an almost literal sense. She fought against the invisible bonds and the spell that kept her lips pressed together, then quietly resigned to her inevitable fate.

The red-haired wizard grunted, and whispered a quiet counterspell to his apprentice's binding.

Elias scolded and swore, "Let me kill her, I don't care what Karr wants,"

The taller wizard frowned strongly, "That's _High Wizard Karr_ to you Pandarus,"

The younger wizard swore again, "Like I care?"

The taller wizard sighed once again and unleashed an even more powerful binding on his apprentice, "I care if you address our leader in a way of disrespect Elias, and if you ever repeat the offense I will kill you myself," he said softly.

Elias' anger subsided, but not by much, "Now Chang, we have a proposal for you, an offer you can't refuse,"

The red-haired wizard snapped his fingers, releasing her from her bonds, "You probably realise by now that it is useless to run away; you can't escape my magic, if you speak before listening to our offer, I will simply kill you,"

Chang nodded, angered, but knowing better than to speak.

"Good," said the wizard, "I'm glad that we understand each other," he nodded to Elias.

"My teacher and I killed the guardian of your Chi," said Elias, "our leader has a proposal for you, he will grant you your powers once again, if you agree to join with us in our Dark Armada. You will be a commander in his armed forces, and a member of his strategic command,"

"Why me?" said Chang, her eyes cold and distant.

"Because you were the only dragon who was willing to fight for the Dark Dragon, our leader knows this. He also knows that he needs a dragon on our side, for another reason. But he shares the same dreams of the Dark Dragon, he will rule this world," his eyes filled with pride, "or destroy it,"

The taller wizard shoved his hand into his pocket and withdrew the shining orb of green energy that was Chang's Chi. In the aftermath of the Week Long War, she was tried and convicted of treason, consorting with the enemy and mass bloodshed, leading to her Life Time Sentence. She had been without her Chi for three years, in which time she trained in minor alchemy in an attempt to combat the hunger within her blood for her power.

Chang viewed the glowing orb of Chi with greed, almost ready to gobble it in.

"Woa there Smeagal," said the tall wizard, "easy girl, you'll have your powers soon enough,"

"After you swear allegiance to our leader," said Elias.

Chang nodded, "I swear it, I swear it, I swear it," she repeated, hungry for power.

"Cross your heart," said the tall wizard.

Chang's eyes narrowed as she went on her knees, "I pledge my soul and my life, my powers and my blood to your leader,"

Satisfied, the taller wizard punched the orb into her chest, feeling the shock of power as the dragon Chi once again resided within her. It was as if an earthquake had hit, knowing Elias to the ground with the concussion.

She screamed in satisfaction, screamed in pure ecstasy, "YES! I have them once more,"

"You must meet our leader," said Elias, as he climbed to his feet.

Chang growled in annoyance, "I know, I know. But first," she glanced at her Troll bouncer who failed her, "allow me to exercise after so long a time without activity,"

The taller wizard nodded and turned on his heels, "We'll be waiting for you outside,"

"I'll be there shortly," said Chang as she transformed into her dragon form, the Troll cowered in the corner, "time to deal with you and all these wretched fools,"


	5. Invocation of a Thousand Years

**Chapter V: Invocation of a Thousand Years**

_The crack of Kulde's voice over the roar of outrage by the other dragons deafened him, "Due to your constant disobedience and dismissal of our orders, as well as the illegal act of forming a blood bonded oath with a Dark Wizard, you are hereby sentenced to 15 Years, void of your powers!"_

Jake's eyes flashed open, and he felt Rose slip her fingers in his hand, "Daydreaming again?" she said softly.

The former dragon managed a small smile, "Yea,"

Both were seated on one of the many city buses, in transit to their place of employment. Due to Jake's official blacklisting against his dragon abilitied family, he was unable to work at their electronics store. This limitation, however, did not affect Rose, who was quite adept at her job in the magical community. It was a small way in which Lao Shi proved his distaste for the council's final decision; by employing one that was shunned.

Jake had a simple job in one of the many video game stores. His youth and experience with the video games gave him an edge over a few of the nerds that worked there. It was one of the mediums to relieving his craving for power.

He closed his eyes briefly, and then glanced around at his fellow commuters. He noticed an old lady with her small Chihuahua, and a little boy holding his mother's hand. He could see a little girl sucking a lollipop and a short man reading the newspaper. He closed his eyes again, refusing to allow his mind to drift. The powers that Eli Pandarus, the now deceased Wizard of Wall Street, had granted him through a ceremonial spell that bound his blood with that of a wizard, gave him immeasurable power. Powers that even after two years, he had been unable to fully tame.

Jake Long, even though lacking his dragon powers, was still a force to be reckoned with.

He felt Rose's hand tighten around his arm, he opened his eyes once more, "What's wrong Rose?"

"I love you," she whispered fiercely, her eyes filled with fear.

Jake glanced out the window and his eyes widened with shock as a car flew through the air towards their bus, "Oh-,"

XX

The impact from the car hit the city bus with such speed that it sent it spinning. It came to a complete stop inside the glass window of a small clothes store. Patrons, employees and pedestrians ran in chaos as shrapnel and debris flew.

Rose spun her modified huntstaff in her hand and shattered the window with a simple blast, Jake was still disoriented from the crash as she pulled him out to safety.

"Come on babe, snap too, snap too," she muttered, slapping his face gently as he lay breathing heavily on the sidewalk.

"Guardian Knight," said a sinister voice from behind.

Rose glanced back to see the Huntsboy standing behind her, at the head of seven other huntsclan members all wearing full black outfits a red bladed insignia at their chests.

"What are you-," started Rose.

A cloaked figure appeared behind him, one who radiated pure power that was familiar.

"I should have known," growled Rose, standing protectively over Jake who was now coming to.

"Hello there again my dearest Rose," said Adren Karr with a smile, he removed his cowl to reveal a handsome face with a simple scar from a previous battle.

"What do you want?" said the Guardian Knight, her huntstaff defensively placed between herself and the Huntsclan.

Adren's smile widened, "I want what everyone wants. Power," his eyes filled with magic, "Etsata, Andata, Uintara, Yanti-,"

Rose's eyes widened, "This is-,"

The shockwave that rocketed forth from Adren's next words blasted her into unconsciousness, Jake Long soon followed.


	6. Markus de Muerta

**Chapter VI: Markus De Muerta**

"Jake," said the voice softly, "Jake!"

Jake Long's eyes flashed open, and he bolted from his position. He was in a bedroom, he recognized it. The Canal Street Electronics store, his grandfather's store. Fu Dog was standing a few feet away from him.

"Where's Rose? What happened?" said Jake, he felt as helpless as two years prior.

"She's in the next room," said Fu Dog, "you two took a hard beating from the Dark Hunter,"

He paused ever slightly, and Jake picked up on his hesitancy, "What's wrong Fu?"

"There's something else Jake," continued the Animal Guardian, walking out the room, "Follow me,"

Jake climbed out of the bed and stopped at the doorway, his grandfather was nowhere in sight. He sighed, he knew that with the 15 Year Sentence he would be unable to communicate even if he were still present.

He entered the neighbouring room, Rose lay in bed resting, a symbol was practically etched into her forehead.

"What is it?" said Jake.

Fu Dog cleared his throat, "The _Markus de Muerta_,"

Jake raised his eyebrow, "English please,"

"It's Wizarding for the Mark of Death," said Fu Dog quietly.

"What!" spat Jake incredulously, "what does that mean?"

"The Markus De Muerta is a spell that hasn't been invoked in over a thousand years," continued Fu, "a curse that was lost to the Wizard community and one that is forbidden due to its harsh and cruel nature,"

Jake swallowed difficultly, "What does it do?"

"It slowly drains its victim of their life energy," said Lao Shi, from behind him, the first words he had spoken to his grandson in two years, "until they are no more,"

Jake's power exploded.

**XX**

Jake screamed in rage as his unbridled power caught his grandfather off-guard squarely in the chest, pinning him to the wall. His eyes blazed with pure dark energy as he turned to face his grandfather.

Fu Dog pulled away instantly, cowering from the rage that radiated from his friend.

"Jake calm down!" shouted Fu Dog.

Luong Lao Shi could feel the back of his skull sink into the wall, Jake's magic was actually melting the spelled walls of the building.

Jake's eyes wavered ever slightly, as he felt an unseen force pull him away from his position and slam him against the wall. A red clad figure, a flash of an arrow.

"Sabrina," muttered Jake, as he slowly regained his composure.

Sabrina Khan, also known as the Scarlet Knight in the magical community, was once a prisoner of the Dark Dragon until Jake Long freed her three years prior. Ever since then she had pledged her life and allegiance to him, until two years prior when he made her break her oath and protect his grandfather and Fu instead. Since he was no longer a dragon he no longer needed protection from magical enemies.

Scarlet was with them ever since.

Sabrina's eyes were colder than he remembered, thought Jake to himself as he glanced at Fu Dog. The Shar Pei was trembling, and Jake couldn't help but cringe. His grandfather slumped against the wall, panting, he had managed to use his dragon chi to dispel the pure force of the impact, thus protecting himself from fatal damage.

"I'm getting too old for this," said Lao Shi.

Jake rushed to help him to his feet, "Gramps, I'm so sorry, It's just that-,"

Lao Shi shook his head, "It's okay Jake, I understand the situation," he dusted off his back as he stood up, "the Markus de Muerta is an ancient type of magic that has not been used in a thousand years. A curse that slowly weakens its prey from the inside out and then kills them in two weeks,"

Jake's eyes widened, "What's the cure gramps, what is it?"

Lao Shi diverted his gaze, "There is no real cure, only a way to prolong its rampage,"

"I will prolong it then," said Jake, touching her face gently with his hands and kissing her cheek, "what must we do?"

Lao Shi stepped forward, "There are three necessary ingredients to the cure, the Rose Petals of the High Mayus, the horn of a Grand Unicorn, and the soil of the Ocean's Rif. If you are able to find these things then there is a chance that we can still manage to save her life," he paused, "or at least prolong the effects of the curse,"

Jake swallowed, "I'll leave immediately,"

Sabrina stepped forward, "I'm coming with you,"

Jake nodded and left the room, Sabrina followed him.

"You need to go with them Fu Dog," said the dragon master.

Fu Dog glanced at Lao Shi, "Shouldn't you have told him about the fourth necessary ingredient?" he said softly.

Lao Shi sighed, "To tell him, would be most unwise,"

* * *

**Will be going on a short business trip overseas (which for some of you will mean that I'll actually be in the same country as you. lol) from the 23rd to the 27th of this month. I will update this story once or twice more before I go, and then bright and early Next week friday (if I'm in the office. lol).**

**Sorry for an inconvenience caused or withdrawal symptoms provoked. lol**

**P.s-I know muerta is spanish for death, cant remember what language markus is though. lol**

**JakeRoss2**


	7. Dark Assignment

**Chapter VII: Dark Assignment**

Elias Pandarus was extremely annoyed as he hurried down the corridors of the Huntsclan Academy. Almost two years prior, their master, the High Wizard Adren Karr, had managed to subjugate the entire Huntsclan to his will after slaughtering over two dozen of them, including the former Huntsmaster. Transforming from a simple balanced leader into the malicious warlord that he now stood as, Adren held sway over both the Huntsclan and the Order of Dark Wizards.

Elias, however, was still displeased with the High Wizard sending him on menial tasks. His teacher was a silly young man with more boyish good looks than real magical prowess, even if he was such a powerful British wizard.

He brushed against the Huntsboy, who muttered a curse in response. Elias ignored him. Had his father not been killed by the disgusting American Dragon, he would have had even more rank and position within the order. As it stood, seventeen year old Elias was simply viewed as a novice by his teachers, a child by his peers, and a push over in the eyes of his _most exalted high ruler High Wizard Karr_. He silently swore within his mind once again; steaming with displeasure.

A figure was leaning against the wall further ahead of him, he was waiting.

"High Wizard Karr is awaiting an audience with us young one," said his master.

Elias scowled, "Already? What do we have to do now?"

His mentor smiled, "I'm sure you're going to enjoy this assignment, we're going to go hunting,"

Elias smiled, "Once it's a dragon,"

XX

Adren Karr was seated in a position of power. From his vantage point lay three seats of distinguished office, his highest ranking commanders.

Chang, the former Dragon Council member was now his First Assault Wizard Commander, and would be leading the battle from the frontlines as well as partaking in the war strategies that mostly came forth. She was seated before them, but was not there in person. An aura shield projected her image from the frontlines. She held audience with them from her rightful place at the juggernaut's forward.

Adren's second in command was not present for this audience; he was in an African savannah, tracking the clues to a well sought after magical device that would prove to be their ultimate victory.

The third, highest ranking commander, was Elias' master himself. Who, after only a short time with their order, had managed to climb their ranks in such speed that Adren himself could not believe the strength with which he carried himself.

"I have an assignment for you," said Adren, his eyes practically bore through Elias's face, paralyzing him in place.

Adren Karr was more than simply a Dark Wizard. He commanded both the Huntsclan and the Order of Dark Wizards, as well as the Dark Armada that had been recruiting for almost two full years. Not only did he command such a vast legion, but he possessed such a potent bloodline, a descendant of an ancient wizard whose powers were unrivalled in his time, and Adren actually surpassed his raw strength.

His pure power, however, was a two pronged magic. Adren also commanded the blood, magic and form of a dragon; something that had never been heard of since the existence of magical creatures till now.

Adren Karr was simply the most powerful magical being on Earth; and his power still grew.

When he spoke, Elias felt his blood tingle within his body and his very essence give way to fright.

"You and your master are tasked with capturing the young dragon Fred Nerk," said Adren, "he has valuable information that cannot be disclosed," he paused for a moment, "you must find him. Find out what he knows and then kill him,"

Elias and his master bowed, "We shall do as ordered High Wizard,"

Adren nodded, "I trust that it shall be done,"

"And so it shall be," replied Elias' master.

* * *

**I Will update once more before I travel, on Friday of this week (once i recieve sufficient ). Stay tuned for a look into the "Heart of the War"...**

**JakeRoss2**


	8. Heart of War

**Chapter VIII: Heart of War**

Jake Long's hands were trembling; he glanced at Sabrina and Fu Dog to make sure they were properly distracted; before inhaling deeply from the fumes of the magical roots. He felt magic seep into him like a deadly storm.

The plane would be landing in three more hours. A single flight from New York to London seemed the easiest thing at this point in time. It would get much harder in the days to come. He glanced at Fu Dog, who was disguised as a baby, an extremely fat ugly baby, Sabrina had joked.

"How many days do we have before she goes into the first pain?" said Jake.

Fu Dog fumbled with his baby bonnet, "I'm never letting you guys dress me up again," he muttered, he thought for a while, "about a week. It takes two for them to...be fully taken by the curse,"

Jake closed his eyes, and felt smooth fingers slip into his hands, "Don't worry Jake, we'll save her,"

Jake opened them slowly and managed a pained smile, "I know,"

XX

Rose refused to stay behind, as she sat atop Haley's back, who landed lightly on the grassy fields of the South American country. The war was slowly intensifying, with neither side willing to strike the first blow; both the Order of Dragons and the Dark Armada were at a standstill, simply waiting for the first move to be made. The slowly setting afternoon sun gave the open grasslands a sad almost stoic setting.

At the frontlines of the war, in this small dusty, abandoned Spanish town, the dragons made their camp. Away from the Armada's reach, away from their gaze.

Luong Lao Shi, the former Chinese Dragon, was given the rank of Dragon Commander General, due to his position of power on the council. Dragon masters and some mid-generation dragons were given the rank of commander.

Haley Long was Dragon Commander Sun Park's Lieutenant.

"Their numbers?" said Lao Shi, surrounded by four lesser dragons and Sun Park.

Rose clicked her teeth together, the disease that was slowly eating away at her was constantly on her mind, and the fact that Jake had left without her hurt as well, "There are only a handful of wizards there," she ground her feet into the dirt, annoyed at being unable to fight them, "not so much that we can't handle,"

Lao Shi nodded, "I see, the Dragon Council has only left the seven of us here to defend this small outpost, and sadly enough, the Guatemalan Dragon's wing span has not really improved,"

The still small Guatemalan dragon managed a small grin and a shy wave at Rose, which made her stomach turn.

A roar shook the earth, blasting the small dragon back.

Rose's hand shot up to her Huntstaff instantly, "We have visitors!"

The beings stood in the shadows of the descending night, fifteen large creatures.

"What are they?" said Reisha, a young dark haired Caribbean Dragon.

The light slowly showed their true forms, Rose's eyes widened, "Griffins!"

"What are they doing here!" shouted Haley, as she followed her fellow dragons' lead and entered dragon form.

"I would have hoped that they were not on the Dark Armada's side," said Sun Park, as the creatures made tentative steps towards them.

"Perhaps they have come to help us," said Reisha.

Her words were rewarded with a roar, as the Griffins charged towards them.

"Somehow I really don't think so," muttered Rose, leaping into the air with a battle cry.

Haley dove out of the way, blasting a ball of fire towards her attacker. The Griffin was too quick though, and easily evaded the attack. Possessing the body of both a bird and a lion, the powerful Griffins were a force to be reckoned with. She could vaguely recall some years earlier when her brother was tasked with protecting one's egg. It seemed though, that any respect Griffins once had for dragons had simply diminished when it came down to the Dark Armada's offer.

They were overwhelming them, from the corner of Haley's eyes she could see Sun fighting off three, Rose capturing one, and her grandfather with five at his throat. They were outnumbered and slowly being outmanoeuvred.

"Come on ya big bird, aren't you suppose to be on Sesame Street?" taunted Haley, as she took to the high ground atop the roof of one of the unstable buildings.

The Griffin's eyes glowed as it rushed forward, Haley leapt nimbly out of the way, narrowly avoiding being impaled by one of its claws.

"Talk about your close shave," retorted Haley in playful banter, "didn't your mother ever teach you not to play with sciss-," her words were cut off as she a claw from behind knocked her through the roof into the floor of the shanty house.

Haley picked herself up weakly with a moan, "I now realise why Jake got beat all the time, he was always talking," she quickly flapped out of the building but was caught on her exit.

Falling to the ground once more, outside of the building, she could see the two Griffins who had managed to sneak up on her. Three now surrounded her, pinning her to the ground.

Two raised one of their talon claws each to strike at her, from opposing sides. It would crush her skull like a watermelon. She turned her head to the right, her grandfather was too busy to notice her predicament, and Sun was busy trying to save the Guatemalan from being eaten. Rose's eyes widened as both girls locked eyes, she was the only one who could see the danger she was in, but was too far away to do anything about it.

She held her breath, the claws came down.

* * *

**This story will not be updated till next week Friday (most likely) because I will be traveling for a short duration on business. Please Read and Review!**

**Also, take a look at my story: The Blood That Binds Us**

**An interesting look at Jake Long's future, and his darkest fear becoming a reality as he faces the ultimate enemy.**

**Thanks in ADVANCE!**

**JakeRoss2**


	9. Can't Hold Back

**Sorry about the late update, had misplaced my flashdrive with this chapter on it. I hope you enjoy! Please read and Review!**

**JakeRoss2**

**Chapter IX: Can't Hold Back**

The train would take them as close to their destination as possible. With an eleven hour trip ahead of him, Jake didn't know how long he would be able to go without the magical properties of the druglike roots of the Dai Fen. The high mountain air, near the magically protected Mayus Mountain, howled against the open window. Sabrina closed it.

Without his dragon powers, Jake was beginning to realise how badly off he would be in this struggle. Using mortal conveniences, without the ability to fly, they had already lost almost an entire day reaching their first destination. It would prove to be very dire.

The small cabin in which they sat was empty except for himself, Fu Dog and Sabrina.

Sabrina glanced at Jake, wondering within herself at what he was thinking. There was silence between them since they entered the train, and that had been almost two hours ago. She had missed him so much.

"I've missed you," she said softly, attempting to break the silence between them.

Jake nodded, managing a small glance at her.

Fu Dog jumped from his seat and stretched in annoyance, "Yeesh, it's as boring as a leprechaun dinner in here. I'm gonna look for a bagel," he muttered, making his way out of the cabin.

Sabrina felt extremely uncomfortable, now alone with Jake.

"I met someone," she said suddenly.

Jake turned to his companion, with a light smile, "That's nice to hear Sab,"

"He makes me feel so alive, he's simply amazing Jake," said Sabrina, her eyes lit up at the mention of him, the fire within her eyes died down almost instantly, "but I don't think you and Rose would approve of him. He's…different, not someone that it's easy to love,"

Jake's face was sombre, "I'm sorry to hear that, but if you really care about someone, you should go all out, no matter what anyone else thinks,"

Sabrina managed a weak smile, "I still have strong feelings for you Jake, I care about you a lot,"

She could practically feel his withdrawal, "We should really focus on Rose right now," he said.

Sabrina nodded, sighing within herself. She should have known better than to open herself to him, he was completely consumed by his love for Rose, something that she would never be able to enjoy in this lifetime. It was something that would never work out as long as her best friend lived. As much as she loved Jake Long, her love for Rose far eclipsed her feelings for him. She wanted her friend to be happy, and she wanted her to survive. Rose had to survive.

"I care about you too Sabrina," managed Jake weakly, "and I do love you, but I'm not in love with you. You're like one of the best friends I ever had, and I don't want anything to happen between us that will change that,"

Sabrina nodded, understanding the meaning of his words, "In other words, you don't want me to say that again,"

Jake frowned slightly, "I'm sorry if I've hurt you Sabrina, it's not my intention to,"

His friend nodded, "I know Jake, it's okay, I know we will never be,"

Jake's eyes narrowed, "Wait," he held up his hand, quieting her, "I sense something,"

A sharp noise began to scrape outside the train, right next to their cabin.

"What's that noise?" said Sabrina, instinctively pulling her well hidden bow and arrows.

"I think it's-," his eyes widened as he grabbed her by her jacket's hood, "move!"

The explosion that hit the train blasted a hole into the roof, taking away half of the wall. Jake coughed, covering his nose with his jacket sleeves. The cold, snowing winds of the mountaintop blew into the cabin. Smoke smouldered from its point, as five Goblins landed violently on the roof.

"Jake Long!" shouted one, he seemed to be the leader, wearing a different color garment to the others, "my name is Jurankai, Wizard Lieutenant of the Dark Armada," he grinned, pointing a powered huntstaff at the young man, "and you are going to die,"

Jake leapt from his position, landing lightly on the train's rooftop. Sabrina followed suit.

He wiped the grime from the explosion from his face, his unbridled powers came forth, surrounding him like a sheet of energy, he grunted to contain it, straining against it, he managed a grimace, "I'm going to give you fair warning Jurankai, be ready, and give me your all," his eyes ignited dangerously with magic, "because I won't be able to hold back,"


	10. Cavalry Call

**Chapter X: Cavalry Call**

Haley Long held her breath for what seemed like an eternity, she could feel her dragon heart pounding at an almost insane rate. The sound pounded within her ears, the forlorn certainty of death awaited her. So many times she had seen her brother near death's door; so many times she knew she had evaded events that would have undoubtedly be the end of her. From the Week Long War, when because of her age and lack of experience she was exempted, to even the fight with the Dark Hunter, in which Jake had charged her with the protection of her mother. Haley Long had never been in such a dire circumstance as now.

She had barely begun to live her life, and yet it was coming to a complete end.

The Griffins' claws came down. She felt the heat before she saw it from the corner of her eye, the powerful flapping of wings. "Jake?" she managed softly, always thinking it was her brother coming to the rescue.

The blast of fire from the dragon knocked all three Griffins off of her, incinerating one completely, the yellow and orange dragon who breathed the fire shook his head ruefully, "Sorry Hale, not Jake,"

Haley used one of her wings to steady herself as she rose, "Fred Nerk," she said with a smile.

"And others!" said a voice from behind, ten dragons were in his stead.

Haley managed a laugh as the eleven dragons who had come as reinforcements quickly dispatched the remaining Griffins with ease.

Fred Nerk stood at the fore.

With the vicious battle from the surprise encounter, all of Lao Shi's small forces were breathless and completely grateful for the support from Fred Nerk and his small recon force.

"Dragon Commander Fred Nerk at your service Commander General," said the young dragon with a slight bow, around his arm was a thin red band almost invisible to the naked eye. His men wore the same insignia, signifying their connection to Fred's Reconnaissance team.

Fred Nerk was one of the many dragons who dismissed themselves from active service after the sentencing of Jake Long. In his stead one of his cousins had become the Australian Dragon. However, in the recent months it was no longer an issue of showing rebellion and displeasure at the Dragon Council's decision, but now a matter of uniting against the common enemy of the Dark Armada. Fred Nerk personally understood the threat of their commander's powers, a threat that could only be culpable if they did not stand together.

Fred Nerk was the head of the Dragon Army's intelligence division, especially after his short stretch with the underground MIA, Mole Intelligence Agency. Few if any dragons had the tactical or spy skills as Fred Nerk, who was simply the greatest choice for the position. In this war, unlike the Week Long War, there was no room for error. The Dragon Army could not afford mistakes against a foe such as Adren Karr.

Lao Shi nodded his thanks at the young dragon, as some of his men moved the either wounded or deceased Griffin out of the camp.

"Do you believe we are at threat of attack once again?" question Haley, she was still shaken from her experience only moments earlier, her hands were trembling, even in human form. It was the cold, she lied, attempting to hide her fear.

Fred shook his head, "Adren's men aren't for multiple attacks at night,"

"Then why the Griffin attack?" said Rose.

Fred noticed her for the first time, and blinked in disbelief at the marking on her forehead, "_Muerta_," he gasped, saying the word before he could contain himself. He bit his tongue sharply, extremely displeased with himself for saying his thoughts out loud.

"My apologies," he managed softly, only rewarded with a slight nod from the young slayer and girlfriend of Jake.

Reisha, the Caribbean Dragon, tended to the wounded dragons as Lao Shi quickly ignited a fire within the centre of the camp with a simple breath. The camp was stink with the stench of blood, both of dragons and Griffins. Blood that held magic, magic that slowly ebbed into the dirt.

"I have a theory," said Fred Nerk with a small smile, turning his eyes away from Rose's deathmark, "and my intelligence reports support it, but we have an even bigger problem," he took a deep breath, preparing them from the news, "the Dark Armada is ten times the size of our forces,"

Dragon jaws dropped at the statement. Rose's eyes widened, and the Guatemalan Dragon fainted.

* * *

**My apologies for the late update. Will most likely be updating this story again on Friday along with The Blood That Binds Us. Please read and review both!**

**Enjoy!**

**JakeRoss2**

**p.s-Any idea where this storyline is going? Tell me in your reviews, I want to see if anyone gets it right**


	11. The Verge of Tears

**Chapter XI: The Verge of Tears**

Sun Park held reservations about her assignment. She didn't doubt the intelligence of Fred Nerk, or his resources. But she questioned his methods. This was not the best pairing for a scouting mission. It was necessary that members of a scouting party were detained, stealthy and detached. Members of scouting teams had to be not only resourceful, but also determined and utilize restraint and tact.

Reisha, the Caribbean Dragon of only seventeen years was breathing heavily as the two dragons crossed the small dry riverbed. The Dark Armada had forces a mile away, and Fred Nerk had tasked them with scouting their troops. With his simple matter of fact briefing, as well as his edict from the Dragon Council, effectively giving him joint control over Lao Shi and his forces. She couldn't help but feel the same uncertainty that Lao Shi had shown. Fred Nerk, although a simple Commander on the same level as Sun, and at a lower rank of Lao Shi, had been given even greater power.

The dragon master couldn't help shake the feeling that the Dragon Council, without the input of Lao Shi, viewed the council member as a liability due to his grandson's recent problems. They feared that Luong would wish to assist his family, rather than fully engage in the war.

Sun reverted to human form as they neared the wizard encampment; she raised a hand in signal. She hoped the young dragon had enough fortitude to stay alert and quiet enough so that their mission would succeed.

Reisha whimpered.

Sun rolled her eyes in minor annoyance, which was quickly replaced by sympathy and guilt. The younger dragon did well to be fearful; Adren Karr had killed her older sister.

As they drew within almost earshot of the camp, she could feel magical webs of energy that stood as a sentry to the camp. Webs of magic spun in every direction, spread out in such a way as to alert the caster to someone's approach. The dragon master clicked her teeth together in annoyance, it seemed that everything was conspiring against them.

"We'll need to weave around the webs," she whispered almost inaudibly, chanting a light incantation that made the enemy's defences visible.

Reisha nodded meekly, following the elder dragon's lead. After five minutes of contorting and shifting to arrive at the bare outskirts of the camp both dragons froze in complete disbelief. There were only five humans sitting around a small campfire.

The younger dragon made a move to speak, but was quickly cut off by Sun's raised finger. They had to listen in on their conversation.

Of the five wizards that stood before them, there were two who sat within the confines of thick cloakes, fully hiding their features. The one wizard that caught Sun's attention the most, however, was the youngest of them, one who looked so familiar to her.

A centaur came running toward the small group of wizards, to which the young wizard stood up, "What is it Kengah?"

The centaur seemed to be fighting something within his head.

One of the cloaked wizards rose from his seat, whispering a light incantation.

"He's controlling them," lip-synched Sun, hoping that the young dragon could understand her words in the darkness.

"My lord," started Kengah, fully under their control, "the Griffins were completely and utterly defeated,"

"How?" said a short and stocky wizard, he had a scar on his neck that made its way to his eyes.

"Reinforcements from the Dragon Army," continued Kengah, "Commander Nerk leads them,"

The cloaked wizard who remained seated turned his head ever slightly, "Nerk is their intelligence commander, Elias and I will take care of him,"

The cloaked wizard who stood shook his head, and turned to the younger wizard identified as Elias, "Go with-," he paused, the younger wizard wasn't paying attention to him he realised.

Elias was looking out into the darkness, in their direction. Sun held her breath, and hoped that Reisha had enough to do the same. The young wizard's eyes seemed to bore into them, as if he could sense their presence. From the corner of Sun's eye she could see that many of the webs were connected to him, they were roving about in the area in which they hood.

Reisha gripped Sun's arm tightly.

_Calm yourself!_ Sun screamed within her mind, hoping against all odds that they could remain undiscovered long enough to slip away.

Elias returned his attention to the older wizard, "My apologies master,"

Sun could see the wizard's body stiffen, "Afire!" he shouted, aiming a blast of energy in their direction, it wasn't targeted at them, and was meant to simply startle anyone in the area, revealing their location to him.

Reisha didn't realise, she screamed and entered her dragon form, throwing the elder dragon aside.

"No!" shouted Sun.

The cloaked wizard that stood, laughed, "Another Caribbean Dragon?"

"_You," _said Reisha with venom, "the Dark Hunter,"

He pulled the hood of his cloak down, revealing himself to her, "Yes, I am Adren Karr, High Commander of the Dark Armada,"

Reisha screamed in rage.

Adren stretched his hand out, "Blessed light and darkness, strike this being with blindness,"

Reisha screamed a new scream, one of confusion and fear.

Sun began to slink back, in an attempt to escape. She knew that even together there was no hope in battle against the Dark Hunter; he had felled the best of them in combined forces. Elias blocked her pathway with an evil grin, "Stay and watch her suffer,"

Adren strode up to the blinded dragon, which fought with ferocity against an enemy that she could not see. He drew his arm back; it took on the form of his deadly dragon claws.

"No!" shouted Sun, attempting to pull away. Chains of magic bound her feet and arms, pinning her to the ground.

With a sickening thud, Reisha's now lifeless body fell to the ground. Her blood ebbed into the dirt.

With a gasp Sun bit back tears; the poor child didn't even have a chance.

Adren turned to regard the dragon master and smiled, "It seems that we have ourselves a real life prisoner of war, as a dragon master, she'll have much intel to share with us,"

The still cloaked wizard who was seated climbed from his seat and walked towards her, in the faint glow of the light she could finally make out his features, his eyes looked solemn, a bit sad even.

Sun gasped as she suddenly realised who he was, "You're-," The cloaked wizard brought his hand down with a quick blow. Sun Park tasted blood, and darkness.

* * *

**Interesting guesses, I won't tell you who was right or wrong, I don't want to spoil the plot for you. All I can say is that the story is going to unfold in ways that cannot be truly foreseen, (I have tentively decided to write two sequels to The Thousand Year Curse, the plot of both are underway and even now are being put into place through this story).**

**The Blood That Binds Us won't be updates this week, my apologies, but I will update it next week for sure. Please read and review, and I hope you enjoy.**

**Any tips of character developments or problems with dialogue? Please give me your ideas, suggestions and thoughts in the review! I gladly accept them (even if I may not implement them on that specific character). Do you think each character is sticking to their "character"?**

**Also, who do you prefer to have their own short story fanfic, Adren Karr or Sabrina Khan? Please vote in my poll (located at my profile page) and review!**

**Thanks in ADVANCE!**

**Stay Tuned for Chapter 12 (to be released on Tuesday, or Monday if I get enough reviews, hint hint. lol)**

**Chapter 10: Powerhouse**

**JakeRoss2**


	12. Powerhouse

**Chapter XII: Powerhouse**

The single Goblin lay in a state of complete disarray, his head stuck in an awkward position. Sabrina sat on top of his back, pinning him to the ground, her legs crossed coolly in front of her. He moaned in pain, but was still very much alive.

"I think I'm going to sit this one out," she managed over the howling winds, in his current state of power she would only be getting in his way.

Jake nodded, acknowledging her words.

Two of the four remaining Goblins were much more cautious in their approach, both attempting to flank the young man. They grinned maniacally, convinced that they would not make the same mistake as their teammate.

Jake shifted his body into a defensive stance, his legs spread to give him body perfect balance, his arms extended at perfect intervals. He inhaled deeply, allowing the magic of Eli to course through his skin; it tingled around his fingertips, covering his arms with blue charges of energy. Although he no longer possessed the natural strength of a dragon's form, when he was purely enraged he was able to tap into the simpler magics his power brought.

"Come at your own risk," he said, the magic that filled his very being gave him a strong bellow.

Both Goblins glanced at each other, a bit disturbed by his display of power.

Jurankai gnashed his teeth, "Attack him you fools!"

One Goblin rushed forward, lunging for his neck. Jake easily sidestepped him, using his arm to block the attack he spun on his heel giving the Goblin a sharp blow with side of his palm. The impact of the blow, completely covered in wizard's magic, blasted the poor Goblin off the train's roof into the cold air of the mountainside.

The second Goblin dove for Jake's feet, attempting to knock him down. Cart wheeling over his opponent with a flip he kicked him in the rump, sending him in a heap after his friend. With a small smile he turned his attention back to Jurankai and his single remaining soldier.

"Who's next?" said Jake.

Jurankai kicked his final member of his Goblin squad forward, the Goblin looked timid and terrified of the young man, his teeth chattering dumbly.

Jake took pity at him, and shook his head, "I thought you were a real man-," he frowned, "I mean Goblin, come and fight me yourself," he said letting his power loose. The young Goblin was blasted backwards, off of the train, safely into the snow of the mountainside.

The lieutenant shifted; through his connection to magic Jake could sense that there was simply unbridled rage within his hard Goblin flesh.

"I will not be as easy a foe as my brethren," he said with a sneer, "I have been trained by Lord Karr himself,"

"It means nothing," said Jake, he could no longer contain the power that coursed through his veins, "I won't be as merciful on you,"

Jurankai spun the huntstaff in his hands, running towards the former American Dragon.

Jake clicked his teeth together and braced himself, his powers would not fail him, "_Simply minding hit him binding!"_

Jurankai laughed as he passed through the webbed spell unharmed, "Fool, your spells would have no power over me! My master has protected me through his power!" he knocked the young man back, throwing him to the ground.

Jake rolled out of the way, avoiding the impalement that Jurankai had attempted to incur, "this reminds me so much of the old days," he muttered groggily, flipping to his feet, "when Huntspunks were trying to kill me all the time,"

"But now you are without your dragon powers," sneered Jurankai with malice, "and can't even control the magic that you do contain,"

Jake shook his head, "Shouldn't that make you worry leather face?" he balled his hands into fists, surrounding himself with magic, his eyes ignited furiously, "because your destruction is inevitable!"

He roared, the impact of the roar, combined with the uncontrollable Wizard's magic that screamed within his blood, was of that of thunder. Jurankai had no chance. His body literally exploded from the blast, sending a sheet of yellowish misty Goblin's blood into the air.

"Jake?" said Sabrina softly, placing a hand on the back of his shoulder.

The young man was trembling, his powers were becoming even more and more violent, his bloodlust even more and more potent. The feel of the Goblin's blood in the air intoxicated him. He instantly felt regret for his feelings, his thoughts and his actions, he bit his tongue, preventing himself from saying what he wanted to.

He climbed into their ruined cabin, and made their way to an adjacent and empty one. Because of the risk they had brought with them, they had wisely rented the entire end section of the train to avoid unnecessary mortal casualties because of a surprise attack. Their fears were well founded, and their foresight rewarded.

He stared intently out of the window, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Sabrina ached seeing him in this broken state.

They heard the door open.

Fu Dog entered with his arms full of hotdogs, "I didmn't kmnow mwhat you guys-," he started, his mouth stuffed with a hotdog, his eyes widened as he saw the damage done to the adjacent cabin, he swallowed whole, almost choking, then shook his head, "I leave you two together for ten minutes, ten minutes! And you blast a hole in the side of the train," he muttered in annoyance.

Jake smiled despite his feelings, "Poor us,"

Fu Dog glanced out of the window, "We're almost at the High Mayus,"

* * *

**Chapter XIII Will be up on Friday (most likely). Looking forward to reviews, please and thank you. lol**

**In looking at the plans for this story, it will be around 30/35 Chapters long.**

**Blade of the Wizard (The Sequel to The Thousand Year Curse) will be about 30 Chapters long.**

**Please keep reading and please keep reviewing! I need your support if I am to finish this fanfic!**

**Thanking you in advance for your loyalty and support!**

**Please ENJOY! And please let me know what you think of this story!**

**JakeRoss2**


	13. The High Mayus

**Chapter XIII: The High Mayus**

The High Mayus was situated on a mountain upon a mountain. The mountain Thabes was known even in the magical community of that of only whispers and legends. They doubted its existence and even laughed at legends of its presence. It was a common bedtime story for young pixies and leprechauns. After an almost two hour hike on its steep terrain, the peak of the mountain was the young exile's reward; breathing much more heavily than before he gripped his chest with his hand in an attempt to catch his breath, his entire body was drenched in sweat and he felt a bit dizzy from the high altitude.

"I can't feel my legs, I think, I left, my feet down there on the mountainside," managed Fu, he lay down a few feet away, he was wheezing, "Whew, I'm pooped guys, how about we take a break for an hour or two, or maybe a day or two, either one's fine by me,"

Sabrina was most physically fit of the three, and the only sign of stress on her body was a thin sheet of sweat that covered her body. She blinked in surprise, and managed a light chuckle, "Men," she muttered tolerantly.

The mountain peak was oddly level, and had an extremely wide diameter. It was almost a small valley within its crater like expanse.

"The High Mayus," managed Fu from his position on the ground. He raised a hand in gesture, towards the single tree that stood thirty feet above them all, "the roses of life,"

Jake frowned, the high altitude air finally adapted to, "You mean like the fruit from that book of religion?"

Fu pushed himself up, "Pretty much the same thing, just different interpretations, rose, flower, fruit that would grant us life, yadda yadda," he make a crazy sign with his fingers, "doesn't make sense to dwell on things like that kid, trust me on that one,"

Jake ignored it, "So we just have to get the rose? Easy as pie," he said running towards the tree.

"No kid wait! Pies aren't easy to make!" shouted Fu.

Sabrina's eyes widened as the trees closest to the High Mayus parted, revealing themselves to be mountain trolls. Jake's step didn't waver as he weaved through their ranks, dodging and easily diving around their large arms; the tree of the High Mayus was within his reach. He clung to it in an attempt to climb, but was easily caught and thrown back in the direction from which he came.

The young man flipped, landing lightly on his feet, he could feel his powers coming forth, but shuddered at its touch. It was cold and sinister; he refused to allow it to break free this time for fear that his magic destroy them all in a single sweep.

"We are the Mayus Protectors!" shouted a single troll, he wore a single white band around his head that distinguished him from the fifteen other trolls that were beside him, "and you have no right to touch the tree of life,"

Jake muttered a curse, "I don't have time for this!"

Sabrina notched an arrow as her companion again made a dash for the tree, hoping to distract them long enough for him to retrieve it.

"Over here uglies!" she shouted, in an attempt to gather their attention.

The trolls ignored her, probably viewing her as no threat. She swore beneath her breath.

Jake felt his jaw snap as the leader of the group's large hand came up in an easy sweep, knocking the young man back. He felt his back arch as he landed roughly away, many feet in the direction from which he was running. He groaned in pain as he twisted, climbing to his feet, his vision was blurring, "I have, have, to get that for my, for my Rose," he managed.

Sabrina's hand was instantly around his waist pulling him backward, "Jake we can't get it like this, we need to retreat,"

Jake fought to pull out of her grip, the trolls made no move to stop them; it seemed as if their job was only to ensure that no one interfered with the High Mayus. The pain became too much for Jake, as he simply gave up fighting, "okay," he mumbled beneath his breath, his eyes still fixed upon the single rose that lay atop the tree, nestled in safety, he was so close and yet so far, "Rose," he whimpered softly.

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**My apologies for this chapter being a bit short, I'm a bit sick at the moment so it was hard to really write it out. I hate being sick. (Sneeze!)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I enjoyed writing it, even though I'm sick like a dog. lol **

**Please read, enjoy and REVIEW! Please review! Pretty Please! pretty pretty please with pixie dust on top! Thank you!**

**JakeRoss2**

**p.s-Chapter 5 to The Blood That Binds Us is uploaded.**

**p.p.s/p.s.s (wateva)- From now on I will refer to The Thousand Year Curse as TTYC (for short) and the Blood That Binds Us as BTB (for short) because it's sometimes tiring to write it out, if you want to refer to them through those short hand ways I would have no problems with it, I won't feel all alone on that note. **


	14. Fight and Flight, Instant Solution!

**Chapter XIV: Fight and Flight, Instant Solution!**

"All we need," started Sabrina, the cold mountain air nipping at her fingertips, "is a real plan,"

"Boy I'd agree," muttered Fu Dog who was busy rubbing himself against an old dried out tree to maintain warmth, "no more of that running straight in for the enemy and getting ourselves whooped plans, time for properly detailed Scarlet Knight plans,"

Jake gave him a nasty look.

"Sorry Jake," muttered Fu, his paws held up apologetically, "you just fitted the description,"

It was a three hours since their earlier encounter with the guardians of the High Mayus, and none of them desired to return to the source of their current problem. Fu had complained about his bad karma with trolls, while Sabrina preferred to avoid entanglements with them due to her arrows being unable to really harm them. Jake was powerless without his dragon powers, and with his newfound fear and respect for his wizarding abilities he refused to touch them again at the moment.

"Only Rose is worth touching that darkness once again," he had muttered as he came out of his almost deadened stupor. He had left his two companions for a moment, inhaling deeply of some 'medicinal herbs' that a witch doctor had prescribed him. Both Fu and Sabrina were suspicious of the 'medicine's validity, but refused to comment further on the topic. Fu had explained the difficult withdrawals that Jake was going through to Sabrina during her time with them at the shop. She understood and was both sympathetic and considerate of his condition.

"There are too many of them to handle head on," said Sabrina, she blew a short stray strand of hair from her face, "we need to be more subtle and discreet,"

Jake nodded. He had become even more silent and reclusive since their last skirmish with the trolls, it seemed as if he was slowly beginning to feel the strain of his magic, the toll it was slowly having on his body. Without proper formal wizard's training, and in the pangs of craving for his dragon chi, he would undoubtedly suffer unimaginable pain.

"Perhaps moving in right now, stealthy and quietly sneak in and we are out of there!" said Fu.

"Rose is the best at stealthy," murmered Sabrina, "even though I'm good, I doubt I am good enough to sneak past them all,"

Jake shot up from his seat suddenly with a smile, "I have a plan!"

XX

Fu Dog scratched behind his ear with his hind leg nervously, "I don't like this plan," he muttered.

"Quiet!" hissed Jake, as both crept closer to the many guardians that stood around the tree.

"Yeesh, I hate being bait," he muttered, ignoring Jake intentionally, "I hate when your plans involve me and being chased,"

Jake stopped and Fu walked into his rump, "Sorry," he muttered, before turning his attention once again to the threat of the trolls that stood before them.

"Do you think it'll work Fu?" whispered Jake.

Fu rolled his eyes in minor annoyance, "Kid, thirty minutes ago was the time to proofread your game plan, don't go giving me cold paws," he held up one of his paws emphatically, "and right now I don't enough warmth for cold paws!"

"Sorry," muttered Jake in response, he drew his arm back in a single arc, "Afire!" he shouted, the magic within his blood ignited the air in front of his open hand, it was one of the powerful attacks that he could control without much worry. With his head clear of any indecision and his emotions kept tightly under wraps, he didn't stress over the magic's use.

The trolls leapt out of the way as the beam of fire shot towards them, with a shout of anger they raised their arms in a roar and charged towards him.

From the corner of his eye he saw her move stealthy behind their ranks, the string of her bow drawn to an incredible length, the arrow dulled to ensure that damage was minimal. Jake held his breath as the trolls closed in on him, hoping with all his heart that her only shot would work. They wouldn't be able to pull it off a second time.

He dove beneath the arm of an outstretched troll, narrowly avoiding a blow that would have shattered his skull with instant ferocity. Using a quick spin he intercepted a kick to the gut from another one, allowing himself to absorb the blow and redirect it with a magical twist. Nigel Thrall had alerted him to a single fact that spurred his strength onward. His voice echoed within his skull:

_"Magic within Wizards and Witches is infinite," he said, again taking an aggressive stance in his position against Jake, "however, this infinity complex is dependant on a being's magical resevoir of power. My resevoir is extremely high, due to the poor blooded influence of my Thrall ancestors," he paused, fixing his hood over his head, his shaggy hair poked out with discomfort._

_"What of my resevoir?" asked Jake, avoiding a blast of magical energy from his mentor's fingertips._

_"I was just getting to that Long," he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, "you really have to work on your patience," he paused again with a grin, "your resevoir is on match with mine due to Pandarus' blood oath. You have all the magical abilities and powers of Eli Pandarus himself, but what's extremely itneresting is that you are a dragon as well," he stopped, "or rather, if your dragon chi still resided within your soul, you would have an almost infinite resevoir of energy, both through the Wizard's soul blood, as well as the Dragon Chi,"_

_Jake's eyes flashed in understanding, his eyes grew dark, "Do you mean-,"_

_Nigel nodded solemnly, "One of the reasons that the 15 Year Sentence was invoked against you was to prevent you from possessing an infinite resevoir within your infinity complex,"_

Jake's mind flashed back to the present, his eyes watered as he drew from his resevoir of magic.

"_Magical flow, guide her bow_," whispered Jake, using a simply spell that he had mastery over, he felt the magic leak from him instantly, weakening him once again. He fell to one knee.

The sharp _thang_ of the arrow filled the night air as it smoothly swept through, connecting with the single rose that remained in the vines of the High Mayus' tree. It sailed smoothly over the heads of the trolls, into Fu open hand.

He grinned at Jake, and then yelped, "All right kid! The plan worked, now let's get out of here!"

Sabrina didn't need any additional encouragement as Jake shouted, "RUN!"

With haste and much satisfaction with their victory, both raced down the mountain, leaving the mountain trolls wailing curses and injustice in the night air.

They had succeeded in retrieving the first of the three ingredients to save Rose's life, Jake was elated, he knew that they would succeed at all costs.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed, I wrote it EXTREMELY interesting to make up for the last chapter's shortness. I hope you read, ENJOY and REVIEW! PLEASE!**

**JakeRoss2**

**NOTE:**

**Updates for The Thousand Year Curse will be on Tuesdays and Fridays (usually)**

**Updates for the Blood That Binds Us will be on Fridays (both weekly and sometimes bimonthly)**

**Just letting you know when to expect my updates. **


	15. Jericho

**Chapter XV: Jericho**

The Wizard's village of Jericho lay on the outskirts of England, hidden within the confines of a translucent hub. Mortals and even magical creatures that lacked magic of a wizard's sort simply passed through the "vineyard" unawares, the illusion of it being harvested by locals fully pitched at all times. It was one of the most populated sole wizard communities still in existence, and It was also the hometown of Elias' master, Wizard Karr's third in command.

Elias was troubled, though. He too grew up in Jericho, before he fully knew the scope of his power and of the blood that ran through his veins. For almost a decade he felt as though he was rotting away within the confines of his grandmother's strict rules and regulations. It seemed as if his father had left his mother after his birth, leaving her a bastard child without any compensation. His mother, loving as she was, passed away around the time he was four, leaving him to be cooped up like an animal with his caring but still otherwise backward grandmother.

It was only on his ninth birthday that he met his father, and within that brief moment of shaking his hand, fully felt the flash of power and visions that instilled him. Eli Pandarus was a wizard of great power, and knowing the threat that his blood would pose to his contemporaries, he hid him where they would never look—within the rurals of Jericho.

Elias, although not having met his father for his entire life, fully understood him completely in that moment. Through the single handshake he fully understood the depth of love that his father had for him, and forgave him without even asking why. His father then spent two entire years with his son, teaching him a few minor but important things about the magic that he wielded, showing him that his magic could be used to control anything and everything.

The young man hated mortals. They were a proud, arrogant and worthless people who couldn't fend for themselves without the magic of the High Coven, the wizards who were tasked with keeping the world from falling into disarray. His father Eli, however, had a vision. A vision of a peaceful and prosperous new world _under_ the rule of the High Coven, rather than simply being the balance and check to any and every error that occurred.

The High Coven, however, didn't view Pandarus' vision with the same merit as himself or his son, viewing it as an unnecessary use of their power, and simply his attempt to seize control of the world.

"Visionless vermin," he had muttered, referring to himself as a full fledge visionary.

When the powerful warlock attempted to show the World Dragon Council his vision, they too lacked the backbone to do what was necessary to ensure the world was at peace and without war.

Exiled from his brotherhood of wizards as a heretic, and branded a threat by the Dragons who served as the magical communities' police, he had no choice but to turn to his own devices in hopes that someday he would be able to bring to light the hopes that he had for the future.

"I tire of this," muttered Elias under his breath, his both boots were propped up against the bar's billiard's table, an Order of Orders was summoned, one that had not been enacted since the second World War. Every first rank and second in command of each Wizarding family was to be gathered together to discuss the matters at hand with the High Coven.

"Patience Elias," said his mentor, his cloak's hood still hiding his features within darkness, "we have no need to start an unnecessary quarrel,"

Elias Pandarus was the only Pandarus with Wizard's power that lived, thus he was granted a minor but still important role within the debates. Had they continued their hunt for Jake Long _without _stopping in for the meeting, the entire Wizard Community would hunt them. Elias and his master were still not visible members of Adren Karr's Army, and as such were privy to the information that was being dispensed.

"After centuries of power we are still squabble about whether we fight or not," said his master in a hushed tone, his family was actually part of the High Coven themselves, descendants of Merlin himself, "if we simply fought for what we believed in without this unnecessary banter we would be with power, rather than the Dragons,"

Elias bit his tongue; he himself had an extreme hatred for dragons, especially after finding out about the death of his father by the American Dragon's hand. He swore to himself that the one responsible for his father's death would be punished without fail.

Kalron Thrall, the head of the Thrall Family stood, "Brothers, the question here is not why we should fight, but _when_!"

"So you are suggesting that we throw away our most sacred post and subject ourselves to the rules of a dragon?" sputtered Mical, the head of the Andarus Family. He was a strong voice against the established forces of the Dragon Army, and refused to lend his family to the fight, whereas Thrall, Vindon and Thornton gave their unending support to the group. He swore, "You wish to bring the death of my son to us,"

Kalron shook his head solemnly, "I lost Nicholas to the war so far Andarus, and my son Nigel is all I have left," he paused slightly, gathering the courage to finish his sentence, "and yet I send him to the frontlines of this war to fight for us!"

Mical sneered in disrespect, "I do not mourn the loss of your son Nicholas, and I could care less for the sacrifice that you or your son may make," he measured the faces of each wizard present, there were about three dozen gathered, representing the five families of the High Coven, as well as the other families, although Andarus was not of the Coven, they held much sway over a small fraction of the others, "but as for me and my family, we shall keep out of this dispute for as long as we can," he bowed respectfully and took his leave.

Mical's next in line was his younger brother, who was sympathetic to the Dragon's plight, but unable to do anything within his power to assist them. Wizard Families were honor bound to uphold the final decision of the family head. He respectfully bowed as well, and followed suit.

Elias whistled softly, "Thank God I am the only Pandarus," he managed a small chuckle, "I answer to myself,"

His master rose from his chair, "No, you answer to me," he said firmly, making his way to the door, "we're leaving,"

**

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**

So what do you think of THIS chapter? I hope you enjoy and review! Including those who read my fanfics and DON'T review, I hope you do review... ^_^

JakeRoss2


	16. Nerk's Predicament

**Chapter XVI: Nerk's Predicament**

The plan had been simple enough. From Dragon Commander Fred Nerk's point of view, it would be an easy strike attack against the wizard's small outpost near the Venezuelan border. It had become increasingly difficult to prevent the populace from recognizing the fighting that was occurring, and the memory wiping spells were almost spent on them all. Soon, it would impossible to hide the effects of the warfare from the human world. They had assumed that their comrades, Dragon Commander Park and Dragon Reisha would have been present, sadly their assumption were simply that, assumptions. Fred's intelligence had proven unreliable, which brought on another concern. The only reason his intelligence would have been inaccurate would have been one of two: his spy had been turned, or his spy had been discovered.

"Simple plan, was only the name of a band," muttered Aroon, a mid-generation Indian Dragon like Fred who had drained under Ishan Khan himself, he evaded the bladed tail of the giant Krylock that had attacked them upon entrance to the small fortress. He breathed a blast of icy breath, the breath that his familiar had specialized in for over two centuries. His scales were a dark blue, almost metallic in vision.

With a strike team of only fifteen dragons, consisting of two dragon commanders, three lieutenants and ten simple dragon soldiers, it had seemed an easy task to attack the four wizard guarded fortress. What they had not counted on, however, was the traps and other magical creatures which were still heavily hidden within the fortress; among them, two Krylock Demons, four Griffins and two centaurs. They had already lost two dragons to the fray, a lieutenant and a simple soldier. The Wizards had lost one of their own, as well as two Griffins.

The dragons were now almost trapped within the impenetrable walls of the fortress, as more and more enemy forces swarmed them from all sides.

"Stop telling me your Ipod playlist and keep fighting," scowled Serra Plo, the Hungarian Dragon. At the start of the war her waist long white blonde hair had been singed from a wizard's spell, ever since she had cut it shoulder length, keeping it out of their reach and sight. Her scales were a deep green, with thin white stripes that made their way from the tip of her tail, all the way up her spine, to her nose.

Ishan Khan, one of the Dragon Commanders present swore, "Will you both stop bickering and focus on the fighting,"

"She started it," shot back Aroon.

"I couldn't care less," shouted Fred Nerk, the commanding officer present, his voice came as a long wail as the single Krylock Demon that had singled him out as his prey slammed him into the wall, "these things are strong!"

"_Steak and Kidney Pie, Make This Dragon Fly_!" shouted one of the three surviving wizards.

Fred swore beneath his breath as he felt his feet lift of the ground, without a proper footing the Krylock demon would be able to overpower him.

"I'm coming boss!" shouted one of the surviving dragon soldiers; it was Jerome Hamilton, a Caribbean Dragon like Reisha, but a recently appointed mid-generation. His inexperience would be his downfall.

"No wait!" shouted Fred, realising that it was simply a trap, he spun his tail sharply, knocking the Krylock back a few feet, his tail muscles instantly stung from the hard shell-like armor of the demon.

Too late, Jerome's neck caught in a vice-grip like spell from one of the wizards, while a Griffin plowed straight into his chest, the unprotected underbelly that served as a dragon's few weak spots.

Fred's eyes locked with the young dragon's own as the life slowly faded from them, and he was tossed aside like trash.

"You!" he roared at the single wizard who stood laughing in the ramparts.

Fred contained his anger, knowing that it would only fuel him to make a mistake. Instead he redirected it into a blast of fire, consuming a single Griffin on his own. The charred body fell to the floor, a mixed stench of burnt feathers, fur and blood. He roared again, and joined the fray.

Fred felt the back of his neck sting as he felt the bond of communication open up. Swearing to himself for his spy's terrible timing he called for Aroon and Serra to cover him while he opened the transmission.

Pulling a small pouch of pre-spelled ingredients to make a magical connection he squeezed the pouch, making a smoke figure appear before his eyes.

He cringed inwardly at his spy's physical state, he was bloodied and haggard, crouching on the ground holding his stomach in pain, "Sir, my apologies for the bad intel, it seems that they figured out who I was because of Dragon Park's reaction to me when I had to serve food to her this morning,"

Fred swore, "So you received inaccurate intelligence because they were feeding it to you?"

He nodded emphatically, "And as soon as you attacked their trap outpost they realised that their suspicions were well founded and attacked me, I barely escaped the three wizards that had come to apprehend me, but I'm weak and can't go on much longer, I'm sure they're going to capture me and torture the information out of me,"

Fred nodded, "I'm coming for you and Commander Park, don't worry my friend,"

The spy nodded with a small smile, which faded, "Any word on Jake?"

The Dragon Commander gave him a pained look, "Not as yet, but he can still make it, we still have a few more days left before the Markus de Muerta takes Rose,"

"I know he can make it," he struggled to find his footing, as if he were growing weaker by the second, "another thing sir, I have found out that there is are spies among our ranks, people who we believe are to be trusted but they cannot," his face was etched with pain as he fought back the gnawing feeling in his stomach, "I-I don't know yet who they are, but I have my suspicions," he paused, "also, there is a traitor who leads their forces sir, it's-,"

The transmission ended violently.

Fred swore, the only reason that the transmission would end that way is if someone had abruptly ended it, they had found him.

He turned to face Aroon and Serra, they were both fighting off the surviving Krylock, but it seemed that the dragons had now gained the upper hand and all that remained were two wizards, a Krylock and a single Centaur. Fred needed to make a judgement call; his spy's transmission had made his location evident through his distress spell, giving Fred perfect co-ordinates to his location. But if he waited too long to depart for him, he might have been killed, or even worse, had their intelligence tortured out of him.

The spy would undoubtedly take his own life if the necessity rose, however, his importance was two-fold for another reason, his survival necessary.

"Commander Khan you are in charge now!" shouted Nerk over the cry of war, he glanced back at Serra and Aroon, "you two lieutenants with me,"

"Where are we going Fred?" said Serra softly.

"To rescue a spy and a commander,"

Aroon rolled his eyes, "I hope it's not another trap," he muttered under his breath.

The three of them took to flight, escaping the mayhem and hoping that their troops would be able to eliminate the remaining wizarding forces.

* * *

Dragon Commander Khan smiled as he looked down at the last wizard, who lay cowering before them. It had been a few minutes after Nerk's departure and there was little or absolutely no resistance left in the wizard's part. The group were almost exhausted from the battling.

"We can take him back to the commanders and let them deal with him," said Candace, one of the seven surviving dragon soldiers, her scales were a dark green with black markings on her wings and tail.

Khan nodded, "We can gather intelligence from this one,"

"Sir!" shouted another dragon soldier, who stood at the entrance to the fortress, he cried out in alarm as a blast of fire hit him squarely in the chest, blasting him backwards into a deceased heap.

The dragon landed lightly, and for a moment Khan thought it was the Dark Hunter himself.

It was someone else entirely, someone who he did not expect to see ever again.

"Chang," said Khan, as if the word itself were a swear.

The former Dragon Councillor managed a small smile, "Never thought you would see me again, did you?"

Khan sneered back at her, "Not since Jake Long blasted you from your palace in Ebenai, and the council stripped you of your chi,"

Chang wagged her finger, "Quite the venomous one aren't you Khan," she smiled as a dozen wizards filed in behind her, "my forces are here to clean up this little mess,"

Khan's face was incredulous, "You are working with the Dark Armada?"

"Of course, they gave me my chi back," she replied, "and I gave them my loyalty in return,"

Khan barred his teeth, "You sicken me,"

Chang laughed, "You do the same to me," she motioned to her men, "kill them all,"

"Sir?" said Candace softly.

The commander sighed, the numbers stacked against them were impossible, "Fight, and survive! That's an _order _dragons!"


	17. Espionage and the Order to Kill

**Chapter XVII: Espionage and the Order to Kill**

Dragon Commander Sun Park struggled with the spelled bonds that kept her wrists locked tightly together; a single wizard was outside the door of her small cell, within the toy factory. In the time that she had been their captive, she had not been fed since earlier that morning, and even that in itself seemed to be suspicious, especially when she saw who the person was.

She felt extremely weakened, as if the food had contained drugs to numb her and keep her from transforming into her dragon form. She could have easily refused to have eaten it, but the jailer had hinted with a small wink that it would be safe. Now she was beginning to wonder if her trust in him had been misguided, and if she should have simply starved herself again.

The entrance to her prison door opened strongly, and a weakened mangled body was thrown unceremoniously to the ground, rolling to a stop before her. The being groaned almost inaudibly as the door was shut and resealed with a spell.

Sun managed a gasp, it was the same young man who had given her the food, "Dragon Hill, can you hear me?"

Gregory Hill, the American Dragon, Jake Long and Haley Long's cousin, lay weakened, his hands bound in similar magical shackles to her own.

"Hi Sun," he managed, pushing himself up against the wall into a sitting position, "we've seen better days, eh,"

"What are you doing here?" said Sun.

Gregory's eyes were dark, his robes were those a wizard, "I had infiltrated the Dark Armada under orders from Commander Nerk a few months ago," he whispered almost inaudibly, Sun had to depend on her unnaturally keen ability of hearing.

"So you have been parading as a wizard all this time?" whispered Sun.

"Yes," replied Gregory, his eyes were full of pain, and Sun could see the reason why, dark deep red blood pooled out of his robes, literally pouring out of him, "I won't be able to survive much longer Commander Park,"

Sun felt her eyes begin to sting, tears filled them, she had already seen another young dragon die, she couldn't allow herself to see another one do so again in such a short time, "You aren't going to die Gregory, I promise,"

"But how..." he managed weakly.

Sun smiled, "Bonded hibernation," she stretched out with her chi, allowing it to touch the weakened dragon's own.

"Allow you chi to flow into mine, I'll guide it into a state of self-healing regeneration," she said softly, almost hypnotically, "trust me and you'll see,"

"I do," murmured Gregory, "and I trust that Fred will rescue us,"

* * *

Adren Karr was again seated in his place of power, but this time there were only two people before him. Elias Pandarus and his master were silent as their High Wizard tapped his fingers against his throne, ornate and carved out of pure granite, it was both regal and bode ill for any who scoffed.

The throne itself held power, it was a sieve and conduit through which Adren's will came forth.

"I have a new assignment for you," said Adren, he had allowed the magic to boom before, but now it came out even and soft, such as that of a man; a mere mortal.

Elias' spirit stirred within himself, he wondered at the void he felt before him, the lack of vibrancy that Lord Karr had taken. It worried him to be subject to a man so seemingly weakened by the war.

"What is it my lord?" said his master with rapt attention.

"I no longer want your capture of Dragon Commander Nerk," he paused as he stared at Elias, "I want you to kill a dragon,"

"Who do you want us to kill High Wizard?" said Elias, eager to find out their latest target.

"I have found out that my only threat is slowly growing more powerful, he dispatched of Jurankai easily and is proving truly wily, even though I have one more ace up my sleeve I would prefer to prove more of a challenge to him," said Adren, he interlocked his fingers, "it's quite simple Master Arouk and Apprentice Pandarus, I want you to kill the former American Dragon, Jake Long,"

Elias' lips curled into a smile, "It will be my pleasure High Wizard Karr," he said with a bow, "it will be my pleasure indeed,"

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**Chapter 18 of The Thousand Year Curse shall be uploaded on Tuesday 20****th**** of July 2010. Please review and check my other stories in the meantime. I hope you enjoy, and stay tuned for the next 15 chapters of this story...**

**Chapter XVIII: Let The World Burn...release date: Tuesday 20th of July 2010**

**JakeRoss2**


	18. Let The World Burn

**TTYC is back! ^_^ READ, REVIEW and ENJOY!**

**JR2**

* * *

**Chapter XVIII: Let The World Burn**

"Please ensure that you have removed all of your personal belongings before exiting the aircraft," said the voice over the comm. System, "on behalf of the captain and crew of the S.S Airfield I'd like to thank you for flying with us,"

Jake Long climbed down the ramp of the small magical craft and into the hot dry air of the small magical African hub.

The war had touched even these parts, Jake noted, as he could see far off into the distance, the smoke of magical fires rising into the morning skies. He shifted uncomfortably on the balls of his feet as Fu Dog and Sabrina followed closely.

"Is something wrong Jake?" said Sabrina, noticing the young man's back stiffen.

Fu Dog growled softly, "It's _him_,"

Sabrina raised her eyes to the direction of Jake and Fu's irritation. The man who walked towards them wore blue armour, his short white hair slicked back and his white goatee well trimmed. He had an air ot authority that seemed to follow him wherever he went, and he was followed closely by five other men and women who wore similar armour.

"Councillor Kulde," said Jake.

The Councillor stood before him, blocking his entry into the outback.

The small village of Matimbe lay a few miles ahead of them, the place to which Jake and his party were planning to lodge.

The head of the Dragon Council nodded, "It's good to see you as Jake Long,"

Jake clenched his teeth together tightly, grinding them into each other, "I could say the same thing to you, but I would be lying,"

Kulde nodded, accepting Jake's animosity towards him, it was only natural. He had no reason to care deeply for the man who sentenced him to 15 years of terrible withdrawal and almost deathlike symptoms, out of fear for his newfound powers and abilities.

This was much different to his exile during the Week Long War, at that time, even though he was exiled he still maintained his dragon's chi, allowing him to fight as he saw fit. This time, even his ability to fight was impaired; greatly.

"Perhaps we could speak privately?" said Kulde, noticing Sabrina and Fu Dog for the first time.

Jake shrugged, "You guys go on ahead and get set up in the village, I'll meet you shortly,"

One of the armoured dragons standing behind Kulde scoffed, as if his words were funny. Jake glared at him, shutting up the offending soldier instantly.

Kulde turned his head ever slightly, "You're dismissed,"

"But sir-," started the scoffing soldier.

"I am perfectly capable of protecting myself Onimo," said Kulde, he glanced back at Jake, realising that rage was building within the young man's veins, "and it would be much better if this conversation was private,"

The dragon soldiers grudgingly departed.

Jake was confused, Kulde seemed much more worried than the last time he saw him. Then again, the last time he saw him there wasn't a war waging between wizards and dragons, a war that threatened not only the magical community, but the entire world itself.

Jake bit his tongue, prepared to at least _hear_ what the councillor had to say.

"The reason that we stripped you of your powers is because of something called your infinity complex," started Kulde, his eyes distant.

"I know," said Jake.

Kulde looked surprised, and then an expression of understanding touched his face, "Your training with Wizard Thrall,"

Jake nodded an affirmation.

Kulde smiled a small smile, "You'd be happy to know that your mentor hasn't been killed, he is leading wizard forces in the Northern Fortes,"

"I would know if he was dead Councillor," said Jake.

Kulde's smile widened, "Of course,"

Jake's expression remained neutral.

"But it wasn't simply because of this that we wished to protect ourselves," said Kulde, his shoulder's sagging, "it was because of the source of your magic, and the fact that this blood will not only disrupt your powers," his eyes were narrow slits, "but also because it will disrupt your mind and your thinking, it will form an insatiable bloodlust within you that will not only consume you, but would also consume the entire world,"

Jake nodded, "Okay, can I go now?"

Kulde was quite, "The reason I wanted to talk to you Jake, is because the dragon council has seen the folly of their ways and wish to re-invite you to the Order of Dragons,"

Jake couldn't believe his ears, the craving within his flesh for his dragon chi was screaming in ecstasy.

"No," Jake said firmly.

The councillor looked shocked, as if he were punched in the chest, "What do you mean?"

Jake's eyes narrowed, "You and the council forcibly removed my dragon chi from me, because you viewed me as a threat, you viewed me as an _obstacle_,"

"Jake," started Kulde, "without your help in this war our very world itself may go up in flames with the Dark Armada's forces against ours, your powers are the key to victory-,"

Jake shook his head, "I don't want my dragon chi right now," he charged past Kulde, knocking him aside.

"Dragon Long!" shouted Kulde in anger.

Jake grunted, "You forgot, I'm not a dragon, not anymore,"

Kulde swore, something Jake had never heard, "Jacob Long, we need you,"

Jake waved his hand dismissively, glancing back to the councillor with eyes full of anger, "Honestly Councillor, you have nothing more to say to me,"

"This world will burn Jake!" Kulde said to the young man's back.

Jake growled as he walked away, "Let it burn,"


	19. Unicorns, Magic and Blood

**Chapter XIX: Unicorns, Magic and Blood**

The savannah was alive with wilder beast, from strong gazelle to mighty antelopes, even lions made their way through the tall grass, stalking their prey with precision and deadly accuracy. Jake's eyes didn't leave the predator's sights. He knew the same urgings of the king of the jungle; his withdrawals were as strong as their lust for flesh.

Fu and Sabrina had asked about what Kulde talked to Jake about, to which the young man had waved them off with a dismissive hand. They respected him enough to leave it at that, knowing that it was his business whether or not to talk about it.

Fu Dog yawned loudly as he shifted in the tall grass besides Jake, he scratched at his rump, "Hey ya kid, move over,"

Jake shifted a bit, bumping into Sabrina's hand.

She blushed in return.

Jake ignored it, as a herd of unicorns appeared. He smiled, "Which is the Grand Unicorn?"

Fu used his eyes as binoculars and scanned the twenty or so herd of the magical creatures. He made a grumbling sound, "Yeesh, they are so hard to tell apart, there's a white one, another white one, I wonder what color the next one is….oop, she's white,"

"Fu," said Jake guardedly.

"All right, all right," muttered Fu in mock annoyance, "yeesh, still as bossy as ever,"

Jake rolled his eyes in light humor.

"He's the one with the grayish mane of hair," said Fu, pointing at the one that took the lead.

From his physical features Jake could guess that he really was indeed a Grand Unicorn, his horn was a bit longer than his brethren, and the point of which had silver like protrusions like a crown. His mane was a criss-cross pattern of both black and white, giving him a majestic and sage like appearance. He was in a simple word, Majestic.

"So how do I get his horn?" said Jake.

"We can't kill him," said Sabrina.

Jake looked shocked that she would even voice the idea, "No, never,"

Fu shrugged, "Try talking to him, who knows what he'll say," he grinned, "tell them you're a dragon, they respect dragons,"

Jake raised an eyebrow, "Okay then," he climbed out of the stalks of grass and walked slowly towards the herd.

The Grand Unicorn instantly swivelled his head in the direction of the young man, and made a soft neighing sound. The other unicorns uniformly sped off, heading in the opposite direction of Jake.

Jake raised his hand, "Wait! Grand Unicorn, I'm a dragon,"

The unicorn leader seemed to be intrigued by the young man's words, and slowly walked closer.

"It's okay," said Jake soothingly, "I'm a friend,"

The Grand Unicorn neighed in annoyance, "You are no dragon," he said.

Jake blinked, unicorns didn't talk, "You can speak?"

The unicorn tilted his head slightly, he was now a mere five feet away from Jake, cautious in his steps, "Of course I can speak human, I'm a Grand Unicorn, the _last _of my kind,"

Jake bowed respectfully, "My name is Jake long, and I _am_ a dragon," he tensed, weighing whether to reveal his status at the moment, "but I am without my chi,"

The unicorn gave him a knowing look, "You have spoken truth young one, now how may I, Lordes, Grand Unicorn, be of assistance to you?"

Jake blinked once again, "The Markus de Muerta has been invoked on my girlfriend, it was said to me that I need the horn of a Grand Unicorn to save her life, I was hoping to utilize yours,"

Lordes managed a choppy neighing that Jake assumed was laugher, "I understand your predicament completely young dragon, I was beset by one such as you over a thousand years ago,"

Jake was confused, and glanced at Fu Dog for an explanation, the Shar Pei shrugged.

"I need it-," started Jake.

Lordes shook his head sadly, "My apologies young one, at that time I could have given of my horn freely, due to my youth and the abundance of my brother Grand Unicorns, but alas, now I am alone, and I must safeguard my herd," he glanced in the general direction of where the unicorns had fled, "it is my duty and responsibility as the last of my kind, were I to have no horn, I could not protect my kind,"

"But the dragons-," started Jake.

"But the dragons have much bigger things to see about than my small herd," said Lordes, "Andam and his kin cannot safeguard us at all times," the Grand Unicorn bowed his head in apology, "I am sorry young one, but I will not be able to give you my horn,"

Without another word the majestic creature took off like an unbridled stallion, leaving only dust in his wake.

Fu shrugged, "We tried kid,"

Jake sighed, "This is going to be much harder than I expected,"

Sabrina slapped him reassuringly behind his back, "Not to worry Jake, we'll get it," her eyes twinkled mysteriously, "for Rose, you know we would do anything,"

Jake shuddered at the thought. He looked into the distance, feeling threads of magic pulling at his sleeves. Eddies of power were circling in the distance; he could sense it, but not its source. He knew that with it, a storm was brewing.

X

Within the distance, observing the interaction between the Grand Unicorn and his target Jake Long, Elias Pandarus shifted impatiently. He glanced at his master, who stood ever still, his cowl still pulled over his head and hiding his features within it. They had been within striking distance for hours now, ever since the exiled dragon's departure from Matimbe.

"I want to take him out _now _master," whined Elias, impatiently tapping his booted foot against the dirt.

"Patience Elias," said his master, turning on his heels, "we'll strike when the time is right,"


	20. Midnight Savior

**Chapter XX: Midnight Saviour**

The night shivered with cold enticement as the three dragons landed softly atop the battlement. It was dark, pitch black in fact, without even the guide of the stars within the skies. Fred Nerk, Dragon Commander, as well as Aroon and Serra surveyed the small fortress. It was heavily fortified, with Troll Patrols making rounds every thirty minutes.

Fred tiptoed down the stairwell, his two subordinates followed closely.

According to his link with the spy, this was his current location. The smoked signal had been disconnected, however, the essence of his life-force itself led him here. The young commander held no doubt that his charge was locked away within the detention rooms on the lower levels.

Fred signalled his counterparts to flank him as he made his way around the corner. He paused instantly as three trolls with maces stood in the corridor. He remained within the darkness, out of their line of sight.

With a twirl of two fingers, he signalled them to hang back as they withdrew a few paces. Fred then gently tapped his claws against the wall, drawing the attention of the trolls.

"What was that?" grunted one of them.

"Go see," suggested another.

"Let all us go see," said the third.

All three trolls made their way towards the source of the sound.

Fred grinned, as they drew closer. When one was within striking range he immediately attacked, using his claws to grip the largest of them by the tunic and slam him into the ground. Aroon and Serra followed with similarly executed stealth eliminations; knocking out the other two trolls with startling efficiency.

Nerk was not only the commander of his own forces, as well as the Head Intelligence Dragon, he was also the leader of a specially trained task force that dealt with stealth as their virtue. Both Serra and Aroon were members of this special team, properly suited for the task at hand.

After eliminating seven more guards, comprised of both Trolls and Goblins, Aroon stood with his back against the door of their suspected target.

"Clear sir," said the young dragon, awaiting further instructions.

Fred nodded as he touched the large steel door, his hand tingled with tainted magic. He scowled, "This door was spelled,"

Serra smiled, "I'll see to it Fred,"

Fred raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you become a wizard?"

The female dragon stuck her tongue out at her commander, and gripped the handle to the door. Exerting extreme effort, her face contorted into an expression of pain. She grimaced as she forcefully turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Fred placed a reassuring hand behind her, supporting her back gently, "Good job Ser," he said with a small smile.

Serra grinned back at him.

The inhabitants of the dungeon didn't stir. Both were lying in an unconscious state on the cold ground.

"Are they dead?" said Aroon.

"No," said Fred, as he leaned over them observant, "they're in a Survival Hibernation,"

"Meh?" muttered Aroon.

Fred chuckled, "I'll explain later, just grab them and let's get out of here,"

"Whatever you say boss," said Aroon, lifting the body of Gregory Hill, an American Dragon.

Serra lifted Sun Park's body easily, and swept outside with grace.

Fred followed closely, with a hand supporting the weight that Serra carried; he nudged her softly to get her attention.

She glanced at him, "What is it?" she whispered.

Fred frowned as they reached the battlements and stepped out into the cold night air, "This was too easy,"

X

Within the shadows of darkness, Adren Karr, the Dark Hunter, stood observing the trio of dragon saviours. He watched as the yellow dragon nudged the female and whispered indecision within her ear.

The leader of the Dark Armada smiled to himself as they took off, "You think this was easy? You have no idea,"

He watched as they disappeared into the night sky, beyond even his raptor like vision. He held his hand up to his mouth, covering a cough, "Heed my words," he whispered to himself, touching the cold mark of the Markus de Muerta that planted itself within the palm of his hand, inhibiting his ability to wield his wizard's magic and slowly killing him along with Rose, "I have spies _everywhere_,"


	21. Licking Our Wounds

**Posting the chapter early (Thursday) since I won't be able to update it tomorrow (Friday.) Next update will be Friday 13th (bad day, bad day, bad day). lol  
Thanks for all the reviews! And I'm sorry I haven't been able to personally reply to them, I've been totally swamped this week.**

**JR2**

* * *

**Chapter XXI: Licking Our Wounds**

"Our team was slaughtered," said Ishan Khan, as he leaned against the post of the war tent.

Lao Shi, Haley and Rose were quiet as the lone commander, the only survivor from the fight with Chang and her surprise reinforcements, related the account. Chang's forces completely decimated the last few dragons they had left, and Ishan had himself utilized some of the oldest tricks in the book to escape the encounter.

"Chang's Chi Guardian was killed a while back," nodded Lao Shi, he sighed, "we had hoped that it had nothing to do with this war, but sadly, few things are going our way right now,"

"She knows nothing of our current military strength, nothing since her lifetime sentence," said Fred Nerk, who sat with his back against a small stool, he balled his hand into a fist, "but she still knows a lot of us,"

Rose glanced worriedly at Fred, "Any word on Jake?" she touched her stomach lightly, a slight discomfort was building.

The commander nodded, "He got the first ingredient and is on the trail of the second one as we speak,"

Rose nodded, pressing her lips tightly together, "thank you,"

Fred blinked in understanding, "No problem,"

"What about Commander Park and Dragon Hill?" said Ishan, taking a seat and a cup of water from Haley.

"Both are still within the healing properties of the Hibernation Trance that Sun invoked," said Fred, he pressed his index and thumb fingers into his temples, clearly tense from the entire situation, "and aren't expected to exit any time soon,"

Lao Shi cleared his throat, "Young ones, we still know of Karr's main objective, the complete takeover of this continent, let us focus all our efforts on this singular objective, one that we can actually do something about,"

"Chang leads their forces here," said Fred, "two of my scouts reported that only an hour ago,"

"Sun and Greggy's intel won't be useful if they're both sleeping," muttered Haley.

"Calm yourself granddaughter," said Lao Shi, "we are all a bit worried about the situation as it stands, it isn't necessary for us to be agitated at our fellow dragons,"

"We're all here licking our wounds," said Rose, she dug her nails into the palms of her hands, keeping her body neutral, avoiding the pain from showing visibly on her features. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"That's not what's happening Rose," said Fred, he climbed to his feet, "it'll all work out in the end, even when the odds are stacked against us, all we need to do is stay strong, persevere and endure the hard times ahead,"

The pain had become unbearable on Rose's part, as she bit into her tongue to keep herself from yelping, "Easy for you to say," she forced, between clenched teeth.

"Rose?" said Haley, reaching out to touch the young woman, "you don't look too good,"

"I'm fine," she muttered, the pain was past the point of unbearable now, as she fell to her knees, crippled by the ripping feeling of her organs running themselves through, the pure pain of hot coals being poured through her entire body, she screamed uncontrollably. Visibly shocking all the dragons present.

"Rose!" shouted Fred, gripping her tightly, "ROSE!"

Rose closed her eyes, fading into the sweet abyss and short respite of unconsciousness.


	22. Revelation, Challenge of the Son

**Tried to update it on Thursday, but I wasnt able to. Sorry! Read and Enjoy!**

**Please review! The enemies' identity is revealed...**

**JR2**

* * *

**Chapter XXII: Revelation, Challenge of the Son**

Jake and Fu Dog sat in silence around the campfire. The solemn yellowish flame flickered in silent mourning, mirroring the effects of sadness that weighed heavily on the hearts of the young man and his faithful companion. It was early in the morning, near the rise of the sun and Sabrina lay sleeping a few feet away.

The Grand Unicorn and his herd were a hundred feet away, sleeping peacefully in the tall grass. Lordes was positioned at the head of the herd, his eyes constantly roving about in the darkness.

Sabrina stirred within her sleep, and Jake sighed, sleep no longer came to him, he had less than five days left to gather the last two ingredients, and he was running out of time. He had hoped that in persisting and following with the herd he could convince the Grand Unicorn of his necessity. But Lordes refused to relent, he was convinced that the dragons would be of no help to him in his fight against the Dark Armada.

Jake's eyes locked with the flame, he watched it dance wildly in eternal bliss; an inanimate object that had no worry or care in the world.

"Kid, at least you've tried your best," said Fu softly, "maybe we should just give up, head back to the camp and you can spend time with Rose before she-"

"No," said Jake forcefully, he clenched his fist in anger, "I won't give up on her Fu, no matter what, I won't rest until I retrieve that horn," he said, glaring into the distance, where Lordes stood watching. He felt a cold and dark presence touch his mind; the magic of Eli Pandarus was alive with violent temper within his blood. He had to fight every fibre of his being, every thread of magic within his flesh from rising and striking the entire herd dead with dark magic, incinerating their flesh and taking by force, the highly coveted horn of the Grand Unicorn.

"Then don't give up Jake," said Fu, placing his paw comfortingly on the young man's arm, "take courage in what we have so far, and simply hope for the best, Rose has faith in you,"

Jake managed a tiny smile, and kept back a tear, "I know Fu, I just can't imagine life itself without her in it, I'll feel..."

"Lost," said Fu, his face etched with concern.

"Yea," said Jake, letting a single tear run down his cheek, "Lost,"

Fu walked over to the fire, and pushed a small log into it. The cinders from an older piece slowly faded into smoke, rising into the early morning sky. Jake watched the smoke rise, following it as far as his eyes could follow, he closed his eyes slowly.

Fu poked at the fire with a stick, and glanced at Sabrina. She was still resting peacefully, her position unchanging. She had seemed to gather the most sleep in their time, but the Animal Guardian was sure that she was inwardly sick at heart, knowing that her best friend was possibly going to die in less than a week.

Jake's eyes flashed open as his skin tingled with magic, he felt their approach before he saw them. Two singular beings wielding awesome power, one was familiar in the extreme. He rose from his seat and turned to see the two figures attacking the herd of unicorns, Lordes blocked a blast of magic, knocking his back a dozen feet.

He ran towards the fallen unicorn, blocking instantly an attack from a robed wizard. The wizard leapt back a few feet, his cowl dropping to reveal his handsome face.

Jake was shocked, the young man before his was a splitting image of his father, the one who granted him mastery over the magic of a wizard.

"My name is Elias Pandarus," said the young wizard, his eyes were full of hatred and malice, "and you Jake Long, killed my father,"

The familiar magic ebbed once again, as the second figure, standing only two feet behind Elias, stirred within his black cowl.

Jake's jaw tightened in angry recognition, "Nigel Thrall,"

The black cloaked being pulled his cowl down, revealing his almost shoulder long red hair; his eyes were cold and hard, he pulled the corner of his lips into a difficult smile, "Nice to see you again too Long,"


	23. Falling Petals

**Chapter XXIV will be posted on Tuesday 31st. Enjoy! I was originally going to write only the part with Haley and Rose, but I'm not in the mood for only sad romantic crap, I wanna fight. lol**

**JR2**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

* * *

**Chapter XXIII: Falling Petals**

Haley sat quietly beside the woman that her brother loved. Rose was resting comfortably within the medical tent, her strong abdominal pains had been alleviated by a potion from the resident med unit. But she was still shifting in pain every few seconds.

"I'm getting worse and worse Haley," said Rose weakly, she looked at the American Dragon, her eyes full of pain, "and Jake isn't going to make it,"

"Don't say that Rose," said Haley softly.

The two women had never bonded, in the years that she had run away from the Huntsclan to be with Jake, in the fight against the Dark Hunter and even now during the war. They had never really drawn close to say that they were the best of friends or companions. Haley felt guilt building within her heart, this woman here would be her sister-in-law, if she managed to survive, and she didn't even know any of her likes or dislikes, she didn't know what at all would make her happy and smile.

"It's the truth," said Rose, staring lamely outside the tent, off into the distance, she sighed, "the truth is that all I want right now is your brother, I really just want him to be here with me, to hold my hand and just kiss me,"

Haley shifted uncomfortably; it always affected her when her brother and Rose were physically together. It was as if she didn't exist to her big brother, and it was no secret that she was sometimes jealous of the tall beautiful blonde.

"I love your brother Haley," said Rose.

"He loves you too," said Haley gently, "you need to rest Rose, don't push yourself too hard,"

Rose blinked, her eyes were glazed.

Haley frowned, "Is something wrong?"

Rose blinked again, "I-I can't see, Haley, oh my god I can't see,"

Haley shot to her feet, "What?"

"I'm blind,"

X

The fires of anger that burnt within Jake's soul were unquenchable, the betrayal he felt at Nigel's allegiance ripped at his very soul.

Jake's eyes narrowed, "So you've joined forces with Adren Karr?"

Nigel shrugged, "You should have known from our lessons that I was sick and tired of the Coven's strict guidelines and the constant decadence that simple humanity has wrought on themselves, the Dragon Council makes me sick," he sneered, uncharacteristically.

"This is between you and me Jake Long!" shouted Elias, pointing his right hand at the exiled dragon, "fight me and me alone,"

"I didn't kill your father Elias," said Jake, "I mean you no harm,"

"Liar!" sneered Elias, "_Ripping Tide, Burn his side!_"

Jake leapt aside, allowing the elemental spell to pass harmlessly beside him.

Sabrina was on her feet at his side instantly, she looked surprised to see Nigel standing against them, "Thrall?"

Nigel tilted his head, "You're with Long too?"

"Of course," said Sabrina she leapt towards him, "and you're a traitor!"

Jake shifted on the balls of his feet as Elias blasted another ball of fire towards him, his dialogue with his former master cut short due to Sabrina interference and Elias' constant attacks.

"Don't make me hurt you Elias," said Jake, his hands tingled with Pandarus' magic, it was responding to the familiar touch of Elias'.

Elias sneered once again, "Don't make me laugh, for killing my father I'm going to kill you!"

Jake swore, something told him his words weren't going to get through to Pandarus' son. The danger of their clashing magics, however, was the most pertinent issue on his mind.


	24. The Measures Have Been Met

**Chapter XXIV: The Measures Have Been Met**

"Do you understand the full import of my words young one?" said Jake as he deflected another blast of energy from the young man.

"Don't call me _young one_," sneered Elias Pandarus, "I may only be fifteen years old, but my raw strength still surpasses yours!"

Jake leapt forward and grabbed the younger man by his tunic, with a shove he threw him back, knocking him to his feet, "don't force me to kill you boy,"

Elias laughed as he leapt to his feet and rushed forward, his hands were aglow with magic, and he drove his fist into Jake's stomach, sending the young exile back into a tree. The tree split with a sickening crack from the impact of the blow.

Jake groaned in annoyance and glanced in Fu Dog's direction, the Shar Pei was sitting this one out, and Lordes had escaped with his herd. He nodded to himself in approval, satisfied with the outcome so far. He pointed his finger tips at his opponent, "_Simply minding, hit him binding_!"

Pandarus sidestepped the spell, countering with one of his own.

Jake rolled out of the way, allowing the spell to encompass the now sickened tree.

"I didn't harm your father Elias," said Jake calmly, "he granted me his powers,"

"Liar!" screamed Elias, whipping forth a blast of fire that threatened to engulf Jake Long, "you stripped him of his powers and killed him in cold blood,"

Jake swore beneath his breath as he leapt out of the way, avoiding the threat of the burning inferno. Had he still maintained his dragon's Chi he would have been able to stand against it without hesitation, even in human form, had he been trained even more by his now traitorous master, he would have been able to counter it. Honestly, all the young man could do was duck and weave and rely completely on instinct to see him through.

X

Sabrina bit her tongue absentmindedly, what had she been thinking to engage in combat with a fully mastered dark wizard?

Nigel Thrall was calm and collected; his movement swift and decisive.

The young Scarlet Knight flipped away from a spell and notched her bow, she let three arrows fly almost instantly. They whizzed towards the young wizard at an amazing speed, such that her eyes could not even follow.

Nigel was unfazed by its approach, with a wave of his hand the three arrows disintegrated instantly, he tilted his head slightly, "I'm sorry things had to turn out this way Sab, you know that I always was fond of you,"

Sabrina gritted her teeth, "You'll always be a traitor in my eyes Thrall, so you can stop being fond of me now,"

The young wizard's expression didn't change, but his eyes filled with a knowing look, "You are one to talk,"

Sabrina's eyes lit up with surprise, "What do you mean-,"

Her words were cut short with Nigel's almost wordless incantation, which wrapped itself around her in a vicegrip like cocoon.

"Be silent till this is over," he muttered beneath his breath, the Wizard turned his attention back to Jake and Elias' fight, knowing full well that it would be over in an instant, knowing full well who the better wizard was.

X

Jake felt his blood boiling with vehement anger, righteous indignation at Elias' unfair accusations and acclamations. The magic within his flesh tingled dangerously, cackling with unbridled power and malice. It took every fibre of his being to restrain the current of power that threatened to unleash itself against him. It was in these moments that it really made him wonder if he couldn't take the fight to Adren Karr himself, feeling the full potential of his powers rushing forth.

Elias withdrew a few paces, sending two or three blasts of fire, along with another spell of chains at the young man. The attacks simply melted away as they approached his flesh, completely unfazed.

_"Sometimes," said Nigel Thrall, as both wizards sat near a small river bank within Central Park, "a wizard's power seems limitless, it seems inescapably the pinnacle of power," his face turned forlorn, "this is a fallacy, none are limitless in their power, and none are omnipotent. In a single moment of pure power, however, a wizard may lose himself to their infinity complex, lose themselves to the very fibres of magic that bind their very being,"_

_Jake frowned, "I don't understand,"_

_Nigel sighed as he hugged his legs to his chest, it was a cool evening, and the breeze was both inviting and soothing, "If a wizard does not properly master his powers, he may lose himself to it and become a power hungry beast that lusts over the blood of their enemies, a person who, past all moral sense of guidance, may end up doing an act so unthinkable that they are sealed forever as a being of evil, a being of darkness,"_

_The young exiled dragon shivered, "I could never imagine doing that,"_

_Nigel's eyes were distant, "Sometimes, my friend, we may end up doing the very things that we could have never imagined doing,"_

Elias rushed forward, attempting to throw Jake off.

Jake didn't flinch, but allowed his power to blast forth in a concussion of power. The assault clashed with Elias', knocking the young man unconscious. Jake's magic boiled in intensity as he stepped closer to the young man's body, each step bringing him closer to ending the young one's life.

A familiar voice, however, whispered a single sentence in his ears, "_The measures have been met Dragon,"_

Jake stopped dead in his tracks, his powers dissipated softly. Returning to its core within his heart he could feel the calm returning to his centre. The voice was none other than Eli Pandarus, through the void itself. "I almost killed him," he whispered.

"But you didn't Long," said Nigel, standing beside his unconscious student, he checked his pulse, "I'll always remember that," he said with a soft smile, "but once again I am sorry, but Rose is going to die," he snapped his fingers and he and his student were surrounded by a blinding green light.

Jake leapt forward, "Nigel wait!"

They were gone in an instant.


	25. A Request Accepted, And A Promise Made

**Chapter XXV: A Request Accepted, and A Promise Made**

The sun began to rise across the horizon, lighting up the plains in an almost majestic way. Sabrina was unbinded from the spell by one of Fu's potions, while Jake stood off in the distance, his hands clasped behind his back in solemn understanding of his situation. Rose was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.

He refused to allow his tears to come forth; he refused to allow himself weakness at this need for strength.

"We need to get back to Rose," said Jake softly.

Sabrina placed a comforting hand on his back, "You're giving up?"

Jake allowed the tears to come forth now, freely weeping before his friends. Sabrina wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace.

A soft noise from behind them garnered their attention; Jake wiped at his tears with his sleeves and turned to face their visitor.

The Grand Unicorn, Lordes, neighed softly, "Come with me young dragon,"

Jake clicked his teeth together in annoyance, but followed sadly. He had lost the will to go on, his brush with Elias' magic had reaffirmed his fears of himself. Without his dragon chi he would remain a threat to not only himself but also everyone around him.

Lordes and Jake were now out of earshot, standing beneath the tree that his back had split in two he followed the Grand Unicorn's gaze across the savannah. His herd was grazing in the distance.

"Young one, I thank you for saving my life and that of my herd," said Lordes quietly.

Jake frowned, "I didn't do much sir, I simply did what any dragon should do, protect the magical creatures of his charge,"

The Grand Unicorn pawed at the dirt with his hoof, and shook his head, "You are one of the truest dragons I have seen, even though you are not a dragon at the moment,"

Jake's face flushed at the compliment, "Thank you," he mumbled softly.

Lordes sighed, "I have lived for over a millennia young one, I have seen many dragons, but few with as selfless a spirit as you," he paused, "as such I would be honoured to grant you my horn,"

Jake blinked in disbelief, "But your herd-,"

"Will be safe from harm, do not worry young one," said Lordes, "I trust in the dragons once more,"

Jake nodded.

The Grand Unicorn shook his head once more in custom, his horn made a cracking noise and fell to the ground, Jake picked it up gently in his hands. They were warm to his touch.

"I didn't know you could do that," said Jake sheepishly, a bit disturbed by the gesture.

The unicorn laughed, "There are many things that we have yet to learn young one, many things indeed,"

Jake was silent, but managed a smile.

"There is something that still troubles you young one?" said Lordes, his eyes bore into the young man's soul itself.

Jake hugged himself even though it wasn't cold, he shivered, "I fear that my powers will become even more dark, I fear that I will be pulled into evil and become an even greater threat than the Dark Hunter himself. I just-, I just feel lost Lordes,"

The Unicorn nodded knowingly, "I want you to promise me something young dragon,"

The young man frowned, "I'm not a dragon,"

Lordes rolled his eyes, "Focus on the promise young one, not the being that you are,"

Jake nodded apologetically.

"I want you to promise me that you'll never change, always put your heart and soul into battle, and you'll never hold back from showing love to those who deserve it,"

This brought a smile to the young man's face, the first genuine one in days, "I promise Lordes, Grand Unicorn,"

"This is acceptable," said Lordes, he managed a laugh, "now I have two requests of you, the first is simple, I want you to accept your dragon chi,"

"What-," started Jake, confused.

The familiar blue orb of energy that materialized itself in the form of a dragon swirled above the unicorn's head; it gleamed of pure magic that was utterly familiar and strange. It had been years since his touch with dragon chi, it had been much too long.

The young man touched the orb cautiously; feeling the power course through his veins and reignite his flesh with the magic that he was born to posses. The magic poured into him with a surge, filling him with the power and magic of a powerful dragon.

"Dragon up," he said softly, as if still in disbelief. His scales burst through his human flesh, a powerful tail extended from his rear, his hands shifted to deadly claws, his face contorted to that of his dragon form. Wings burst through back, strong and well muscled. He tested them tersely, feeling the hunger and withdrawal symptoms of his suffering instantly evaporate like mist.

"Thank you," whispered Jake, as tears filled his eyes.

"No," said Lordes, "thank you for protecting our herd, be the best that you can me young dragon,"

"I will," said Jake.

"Kid we need to move," said Fu Dog, he scratched his neck with his hind-leg, "the Ocean's Riff is waiting,"

Sabrina walked over and nodded, "I've got the Petals right here,"

Jake handed the Grand Unicorn's Horn to her, "And now you have the horn as well,"

She smiled, "We're getting closer to saving Rose,"

Jake grinned, "I know,"

"There is the second thing I request of you young dragon," said Lordes.

Jake turned back to the Unicorn, "And what's that?"

"I request that you to find the one person who can help you tame the darkness within," said Lordes, "his name is Ragnom Nod Nam, and he will be able to bring forth your true potential, while quenching the darkness within you,"

"Ragnom?" said Jake.

"Known as a whisper and the Master, he is as elusive as a fox, and it may take some time to find him, but he will best be suited for your training," said Lordes.

Jake nodded, understanding the subtle message. Without a wizard from the Coven to train him and with Nigel gone rogue, this was his only option, his only source of sure success in taming his dark powers.


	26. Muerta

**See my profile page for updated information! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Ada69, who probably had a really crazy day yesterday and is looking forward to this chapter.**

**JR2**

**Chapter XXVI: Muerta**

Lao Shi rested his hand gently upon the young woman's head, directing her flow of Chi through the tip of her skull. Rose blinked in disbelief as her vision once again restored to its natural state. Her tears came down in torrents once more, elated at the simply joy of sight.

She had been crying non-stop since she had lost her ability to see, an ability that most took for granted, blessed with it still in some capacity.

Lao Shi, however, could do nothing for the pain, nor could the Surgeon Sorcerers or others in the battlefield. The pain was becoming beyond unbearable, it was simply something that ate at her insides, crawling within her skin like a flesh eating disease; ravaging everything in its wake. Her outward appearance was nothing out of the ordinary, sweat dotted her forehead; her skin was ashen and pale as if she was afflicted with a simple fever. But on touching her skin, one could sense the magic that was at work within her. It sparked like static, humming when Chi came into contact with her.

She knew it for sure at this point in time—uncertainty had evaporated—her body was dying.

She started to cry again, not for the pain that was touching her body, but because of all the things she would never get to experience in life. Marrying Jake, having children, growing old and even passing restfully were simply illusions at this point in time.

"Please," said Rose softly, "Tell Jake that I love him, please,"

Lao Shi shook his head, "That, my child, is for you to tell him," he gave her a small smile.

Rose whimpered softly and closed her eyes, "I won't see him again, I just wan-,"

The Dragon Master removed his hand from the crown of her head and sighed, "Young one, my grandson is risking his life to obtain the key ingredients that will save your life," he gave her a wink, "I would appreciate it if you showed a little more confidence in his abilities,"

Rose forced a smile and coughed, "I appreciate it, don't worry,"

Lao Shi nodded.

Commander Fred Nerk entered the tent and glanced at Lao Shi, "How is she?"

Lao Shi nodded, "She can see again,"

Fred grimaced, "I was hoping that Jake would have been back by now,"

The former Chinese Dragon cleared his throat, "I'm sure that he will be here shortly, I have utter confidence in his strength as a wizard, and he has Fu Dog and Sabrina to protect him anyway,"

Lao Shi touched his fingers against the young woman's forehead, allowing his Chi to send her into a like sleep, "You should rest young one, you need it,"

She nodded numbly, drifting into blissful and painless sleep.

The two commanders stepped out of the tent into the warm afternoon light. There was a hush in the camp, as close to twenty five dragons were present, with many from the Magical Army Corp among them. They had a fighting force of over a hundred present. Still not enough in comparison to the Adren Karr's forces.

"Any change with Commander Sun and Lieutenant Gregory?" said Lao Shi.

Fred nodded, "Sun is still under, but Gregory is close to waking, his pulse has started strengthening and he's soon going to wake,"

The Council Member smiled, "That's good news,"

Haley Long landed roughly a few feet away, making a small crater beneath her feet, her breathing was labored, but other than that exertion there seemed nothing wrong with her person, "News from the scouts grampa! The enemy is mobilizing!"

"An afternoon attack?" said Fred in disbelief, glancing at Lao Shi, "we need to be ready,"


	27. The Ocean's Riff

**Back from my trip, jet-lagged, tired and grumpy cause im stuck in work. lol. The final chapters of TTYC are at hand...the countdown begins...**

**Chapter XXVII: The Ocean's Riff**

High above the Ocean, Jake Long, in full dragon form with both Fu Dog and Sabrina atop his back, blasted through the cloud at full speed. He had flown nonstop from the African Plains, hastily towards the hidden Ocean's Riff.

He had never heard of such a place in his life, and his grandfather had seemed to hint that it was a place where few had ever ventured to. It was at this time that his elation was the highest, even though he had but two or three days left, he had regained his Dragon Chi and felt it within his heart that he was definitely going to succeed in saving Rose's life. There was no longer any doubt within his mind that soon he would be with her once again.

Jake glanced down, using his eye of the dragon to see schools of fishes within the waters, he was so far from any landmasses, continents or even small islands. He was beginning to wonder if they were even going to reach this fabled place of wonders.

"We're almost there," said Fu Dog.

Jake nodded, slowing his pace; it made no sense exhausting himself before arriving. There was something bothering him though, his Animal Guardian was a bit more distanced than usual, as if something were worrying him. There was something suspicious about his mood, but the young dragon refrained from voicing his concern, trusting that Fu would tell him if anything was amiss. A speck of a small landmass was before them, dotted with small trees and a rocky cave.

"There," said Fu, pointing.

Jake shifted his tail and forced the wind above him, allowing the seablast to assist him in his plummet downward, flying over the ocean was always a challenge for dragons, especially without the pavement added thermals from heated earth beneath them.

"Here?" said Sabrina incredulously. She too had seemed uncharacteristically quiet on the flight back.

Then again, his takeoff had been a bit strained, having not flown during his time without his dragon powers.

He landed softly, realising how much larger the small island was when he touched down. The sand beneath his claws was as soft as silk. Sabrina and Fu jumped onto the sand, Sabrina kissed the ground emphatically. Then Jake remembered that she disliked flying on dragon's backs.

"Be careful Jake," said Fu.

Jake reverted to human form, flexing his once again mortal fingers and arm, "Why? What's there to worry about here?"

Fu's eyes were serious, "Only those who are deemed worthy can enter," he motioned to the cave that seemed to crackle with magic.

"What do you mean?" said Jake his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"The Ocean's Riff is a sentient being of great magic," said Fu, his eyes were filled with fear, "I had honestly hoped that we had failed before arriving so far, lest the magic of the Ocean's Riff destroy your very soul,"

The young dragon blinked in disbelief, taken aback by Fu's hopes. He had hoped that they had failed from the start. He swallowed difficultly, "So what's in there?"

Fu shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know, all I know is, that the only way to get sand from the Ocean's Riff is to enter the Ocean's Riff itself and spend time with the being of beyond,"

"The being of beyond?"

Sabrina touched his shoulder, "Jake, we don't have the time for a thousand questions, I'll try to enter first,"

Jake nodded.

The young woman gave him a small wink and walked over to the entrance, she took a small soft step inside and smiled, the Ocean's Riff had not seemed to deny her entry. Taking another step she felt a swell of air before her, as a crackle of energy blasted her onto her back.

"Sabrina!" shouted Jake, running to the young woman's side.

Fu didn't move from his position, "She'll be okay," he said softly, "but she was denied entry, never again will she be able to attempt to enter, or death shall be her second response,"

"Can't you try next Fu?" said Jake, realising that Sabrina was sleeping.

"No," said Fu sadly, "for if I attempt to enter once more, death shall be my second response,"

Understanding dawned on him, Fu had attempted entry once before and was thoroughly convinced that none of them would be able to enter and thus they would fail in their quest.

Jake turned away from them, "I can make it Fu, I know I can, I'm not sure of the worthy part, but I am sure that I can enter,"

Fu shrugged as he turned away, "I should hope so,"

Jake stood before the entrance, feeling the magic course through his flesh as he took a step into the cave. The magic, however, seemed to invigorate his flesh, bringing sustenance to his tired bones and muscles. He took another step, and was not buffeted by the same violent force that wrenched Sabrina backwards.

He glanced back at Fu, who was wide-eyed in his appraisal of his charge. Sabrina had awoken and was resting on her elbows, surprised at Jake's position within the cave.

"Good luck," whispered Sabrina.

Jake nodded and entered the Ocean's Riff unharmed.


	28. Prophecy Is Such a Frivolous Thing

**Chapter XXVIII: Prophecy Is Such a Frivolous Thing**

Jake took a soft step into the deep cavern.

He had walked for close to fifteen minutes and was only greeted by solemn rocks and stones, nothing but lifeless inanimate objects. The temperature inside the cave had also become cold and sometimes unbearable, shifting between temperate, tropical and arctic. It was as if his magic were reacting violently towards the magic of the Ocean's Riff. Holding his hand out in front of him with a ball of his dragon's fire within it to illuminate the darkness, he was at some points disheartened, but still he carried onward.

Standing now in the large opening he glanced upward, realising that light was cascading beautifully into the circular room which looked like a naturally carved atrium. He felt the ground beneath his feet shift slightly, and realised that he was standing on sand.

"Sand of the Ocean's Riff," he whispered to himself. Closing his hand, his flame winked out.

**Why are you here young dragon? **Said a voice within his head.

Jake blinked in confusion, "Who's there?"

Laughter filled his head, as if a being of much more power were controlling his very thoughts, **You enter my dwelling place and yet ask who I am? Young dragon you are indeed perceptive.**

"The Ocean's Riff?" said Jake.

The sand before him began to swirl with eddies of power, different shades of magic swirled into a rainbow of colors, illuminating the cavern with an eerie glow, **Yes young dragon, but perhaps I should-**

"-take a form that is less intimidating to your perceptions," said a female voice.

The figure that stood before him was absolutely stunning; her hair was a bit past her shoulders and was a deep and rich red. Her eyes were a startling green that seemed to envelop him, inspiring within his heart the smooth and steady certainty of the ocean, with a violent and frightening tempest-like nature ready to bubble forth in an instant. Her body seemed flawless, perfectly enveloped within a smooth white dress that modestly covered her feminine parts but seemed to scream attention to them. She passed her hand over the sand and a throne like seat poured forth beneath her body, seating her in an instant.

Jake swallowed in disbelief, startled by the being before him.

"I find that most creatures seem to be overwhelmed by my nature form, so I always try to utilize a form that is most pleasing to them," she said softly, "you may call me Neadra, now young dragon make your request,"

Her voice was soft and soothing to his ears, but Jake suspected that it could become terrifying in a moment's notice, "I thank you for your generosity Miss Neadra," he said after clearing his throat, "all I wish to ask of you, however, is for some sand from this beautiful place,"

Neadra passed her hand through her hair, "Of course young dragon, I will grant you permission to take from my humble home, however, in order for me to grant you this request you must meet the requirement,"

Jake frowned, "I will meet whatever is needed of me,"

Neadra's eyes twinkled, "Good," she was quiet as she tapped her finger against her chin, her finger nails glittered as if sprinkled with the stars.

The young dragon shifted uncomfortably as she simply stared at him, it seemed as if she were looking into the very fabrics of his being.

"All that is required is that I bless you," she said softly, she turned her face away her eyes distant, "but I warn you, young one, my blessing is not for the faint of heart or the weak-minded,"

"I need the sands Miss Neadra,"

The beautiful being before him nodded, "I suppose,"

She was quiet again, then sighed in a very human way, "Then here shall be my blessing, a prophecy has been invoked one that shall shape the very vestiges of the future, one that I can no longer prevent from unfolding. One that shall lead to either the complete destruction of your kind, your species, or the dawn of a new era of peace and prosperity,"

Jake frowned, he remembered hearing something about a prophecy from Fu Dog and Sabrina, but nothing specific, "The prophecy that my sister heard?"

Neadra nodded, "That prophecy, however, is incomplete. YOU are the lynchpin or the most important factor of that prophecy,"

Jake felt as if the weight of the world were pressing into him, he couldn't deal with a new task, he was already chasing after these ingredients to save Rose, and he had to also deal with finding the master that Lordes had requested him to find. It felt as if everything were caving in on him, so many people were placing faith in him and trusting in him to lead them to victory. Now a prophecy with his name printed on it was being placed upon his head and his future? His _destiny_?

"I don't accept this," said Jake softly, with his fists clenched tightly.

"You have no choice in the matter young dragon," said Neadra softly, her eyes were full of the human expression of pain, "but I shall tell you all that I can,"

"Then tell," whispered Jake with his eyes focused on the ground.

_"You shall have love held in terrible sickness,"_

_"You shall be betrayed,"_

_"You shall discover what was unknown,"_

_"You shall become a vassal of incredible power,"_

_"You shall lose your strength,"_

_"You shall be hunted,"_

_"You shall learn of your true nature,"_

_"You shall lose something of great importance,"_

_"You shall learn through suffering,"_

_"You shall become greater than yourself,"_

_"You shall see the past as if it were present,"_

_"You shall be challenged by a ghost that is from beyond,"_

_"You shall face the greatest threat that is to come,"_

Her eyes were filled with sadness, "_and you shall die,"_

Jake's heart had been torn asunder at every word that had issued forth from her mouth, but with the final words of her prophecy he fell to the sand a defeated man, a wail of despair escaping through his lips uncontrollably.

Neadra came forward, clasping his face within her hands and embraced him, "My little one, my young dragon, your fate and destiny is sealed, only you by your actions and choices can determine the final outcome..."

Jake sobbed uncontrollably.

The being of beyond kissed his forehead softly, imparting power through his being, "Know this young dragon, you shall be the most important being of magic for millennia,"

She began to fade as she wrapped her arms around him in another embrace, "Take courage Jake Long,"

The exiled American Dragon, Jake Long, wept uncontrollably at the fate that lay in store for him.


	29. Race Against The Clock

**Chapter XXIX: Race Against The Clock**

Jake was quiet as they raced towards South America. His wings were sore from the strenuous exertion, but he knew that they were now racing against the clock to reach Rose in time. Fu Dog was not only silent, but also distant, as if something else were worrying him.

Sabrina was purely ecstatic, not only was she now in possession of all three ingredients to save Rose's life, but she was also full of the sure hope that Rose would indeed survive.

The young dragon wizard felt his heart still trembling from the Neadra's prophecy regarding himself. It was something that was hard to fathom, knowing the truth of one's destiny. The fact that all the events to occur were going to eventually lead to the death of him.

_How could someone actually fathom the fact that they were going to die because of a prophecy? It wasn't as if it were some vague, you'll die when you grow older, you'll die in a few years, or anything at all like that. It was a prophecy that was linked with each part and piece, ending with his death._ He thought to himself.

"I wonder if this is how Harry Potter felt," Jake muttered beneath his breath.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him, he waved her off with a shrug that nearly threw Fu into the sea.

"Heeey! Watch it kid!" muttered Fu.

"Sorry," said Jake, he sighed to himself, he shouldn't really blame Fu for wishing him to fail. It was simply his desire for Jake to survive that he thought that way. He didn't understand though, this was ROSE they were talking about. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't do to save her life, even at cost to his own.

_You shall have love lost in terrible sickness..._

He shuddered at the thought; did it mean that she was going to be lost to it, even if he arrived there now? Having love lost being SICK, or love lost in DEATH? He closed his mind off to the thought and flapped his wings again in a strong burst.

He had so many hopes and dreams to accomplish, but once he saved Rose he would have to also focus on defeating Adren and his Dark Armada. He wouldn't allow _destiny _or even _fate_ to rule him, he would not live to die in this way.

_You shall be betrayed..._

Neadra's soft voice whispered in his ears once more. Nigel Thrall had betrayed him, he was the one who Jake trusted above all else to train him to be a powerful wizard, and yet he was on the enemy's side? He was without a doubt the one who was to betray him.

_You shall discover what was unknown..._

That was simple enough, he would discover something new, he mused. Then again, why not simply SAY you shall discover something new? Why go through the complex problem of stating it in THAT way? He grunted, why was he stressing his head about prophecy again? He was his own person, he would shape his OWN destiny as he saw fit.

"Only a few more hours kid, and we'll be able to see Rose and the others," said Fu Dog.

Sabrina smiled, "Soon Jake, Soon,"

Jake felt something cold within his stomach, something about the prophecy was eating at him; something that was going to shake his future for the worse.

X

Nigel Thrall, Third in Command of the Dark Armada and Arouk of Elias, stood before Adren Karr, his cowl once again hiding his features. They were once again within the Supreme Commander's inner chambers, this time, however, it were only the two of them. Elias was not present, nor were any of the other, lesser commanders of captains. Chang was busy overseeing the efforts against the Dragon Order in South America, while the second in command of the Dark Armada was in Africa.

The Supreme Commander coughed lightly, his blood appeared in the palm of his hand, he swore beneath his breath, "Do you have news Arouk?"

Nigel nodded, "They have the final ingredients and are enroute to South America with the _cure_,"

"Then they don't know of the final ingredient?" said Adren.

Nigel nodded once again.

Adren sighed, "Thank you, Nigel, you and I shall go tell them what they need," he coughed violently.

"My lord!" said Nigel worriedly; he reached for his master in a supportive position.

"It's alright Nigel," managed Adren through clenched teeth, "but let's hurry to the rendezvous point, we need to cut them off before they get to Rose so that I may illicit his help, in finding the Blade of the Wizard,"

"As you say my lord,"

X

The shoreline drew closer, and Jake heaved. He was out of breath and beyond exhausted from flying for such a length of time, almost all his energy that he had recovered while in the Ocean's Riff was now spent.

"They're somewhere in Venezuela I think," said Sabrina.

Jake managed a nod, "Almost-," a blast of energy sped from the underbrush of the shoreline, it hit Jake squarely in the chest. The young dragon wailed in pain, Fu and Sabrina yelped in surprise as they plummeted towards the sand.

Two figures in dark cloaks stood in cold-hearted composure, one coughed beneath his cowl.


	30. Truth, Lies and Cold Hard Facts

**Explosive Chapter...Jake is struck by two mysterious figures! A Master Plot is REVEALED! Enjoy and Review! This was a difficult chapter to write...**

**JR2**

**Chapter XXX: Truth, Lies...and Cold Hard Facts**

Jake was lying face-down in the sand. He groaned in pain as he used his arm to push himself up, his body involuntarily reverted to human form as he glanced up at the two robed figures before him. The pain in his chest from the blast of magic was fading. The attack was meant only to stun.

"Who-," he muttered in pain, "are you?"

Fu Dog and Sabrina picked themselves up painfully from the sand, the sound of the waves crashing behind them reminded them of the eerie power of the Ocean's Riff.

One of the being coughed, pulling down the cowl of his robes.

Jake's eyes flashed in disbelief, "The Dark Hunter, Adren Karr,"

"Hello again Jake Long," he said softly, he stretched his hand out, "I have come this time to aide you in saving Rose's life,"

"You have got to be kidding me," said Fu Dog.

"What Fu said," muttered Jake as he took to his full height, he glanced at the second figure and felt the touch of the familiar magic that he knew so well, "Thrall,"

The other wizard bowed his head in acknowledgement and lowered his cowl, "I was to remain anonymous for this reunion,"

"It doesn't matter anymore," muttered Adren, sweeping his hand in a dismissive way, his eyes grew dark, "now it's time to see if you want the final ingredient,"

"The final ingredient?" frowned Jake.

Fu Dogg coughed.

The young dragon spun to face him, "What's the FINAL ingredient Fu? I thought there were only three necessary ingredients?"

"Ah," said Adren, he tapped his fingers together lightly, "so they never told you what will really save the young lady's life," his hands trembled visibly, "the key to her salvation is also the key to mine,"

Jake frowned, his eyes becoming suspicious slits, "What do you mean?" he breathed in deeply, testing to see how strongly his Dragon Chi was to his body. It was necessary that he be in full control if he had to attack, even though Adren looked weak and frail, Nigel was more than a match for Jake, even with his full dragon form at his disposal. He quietly dismissed thoughts of attacking Adren.

"I am also the victim of the Markus de Muerta, better known as the Thousand Year Curse," said Adren softly, "the only way for me to survive is to partake of the three ingredients that you have procured,"

The young dragon's eyes widened, "What?"

Adren managed a grin, "The Markus de Muerta is a killing curse, that it is indeed, however, it is also the stepping stone to a higher level of magic that not even you can fathom. If I partake of these ingredients, I shall be unrivalled in power and unmatched in ability. Not even a God will be able to touch me,"

Jake growled, "I'll never let that happen,"

Fu cleared his throat, "Jake-,"

Adren laughed, "The final necessary ingredient that Rose desires is a drop of my blood..."

The young dragon clenched his fist, "I'll kill you myself and take that from you,"

The Dark Hunter's eyes twinkled mischievously, "..given willingly,"

Fu Dog swore.

Jake's eyes widened once more and he spun to face the Animal Guardian, "You knew this all along!"

The Shar Pei looked sick, "Kid, the old man and I-,"

Jake raised a hand, "I don't want to hear it," he glanced back at Sabrina, her face was passive and calm.

"Do you love Rose enough to risk dooming the entire world?" sneered Adren, he snapped his fingers with each word, "save her and let me become more powerful? Or let her die and bring an end to this war?"

"I won't choose," whispered Jake, his face flushed with anger.

"Ah," said Adren, "so you say, but you know that you must choose. Inaction itself is a choice, you'll let her die," he said softly, allowing the words to sink in. He placed his hand to his chest, heaving silently against an invisible force.

"Kid, don't do it," whispered Fu.

Jake ignored him, he was tired of the Animal Guardian's advice, it was only leading him to more heartache. Fu Dog was the one who betrayed him, not Nigel. Fu Dog, by his withholding information that was vital to his goals was betraying his heart.

"I want a drop of your blood Adren Karr," said Jake with a sigh.

"Are you willing to give me the ingredients?" said Adren.

"Yes," muttered Jake beneath his breath, "I have them on me,"

Adren shook his head, "No, no, no, don't lie to me Long, for this magic to work all ingredients must be given willingly and honestly, I don't want your lies to interfere with my magic,"

Fu Dog barked uncontrollably, "Wait!"

Adren tilted his head in annoyance, "What is it mutt?"

"The key to the Markus De Muerta's curse is _love_," said Fu Dog, "only because Jake loves Rose unconditionally can its magic save her, it's the determination and love, combined with the journey itself and the ingredients that give birth to the cursed one's salvation,"

The Supreme Commander of the Dark Armada's eyes gleamed, "So now, you may be wondering, how will I be saved by Jake's selfless act of love towards Rose?"

Jake's mind raced, something was wrong with what was being said. He was missing something very vital to this entire situation and his Dragon Chi and Wizard's Blood tingled with misery as he tried to decipher what it was.

"Love isn't necessary for my salvation Jake Long," said the Dark Hunter, "but it is necessary for Rose's," he stretched out his hand, "Share the ingredients with me,"

"Your blood," said Jake with an outstretched hand.

His enemy forced a smile, "Of course," he muttered, he snapped his wrist forward and one of his whip-chains snaked out slicing the palm of his hand, blood ran down his fingers in a rush, "take it while it's hot,"

Jake had to fight the urge to punch Adren into the underbrush, "Sabrina? Gather his blood and hand over part of the ingredients to him, half of each,"

Scarlet Knight looked distraught over the exchange, but meekly accepted Adren's blood into her hand, allowing it to fill a small vile that was on her person, she passed her hand over the wound softly and subtly.

Realization dawned on him, Jake's breath held in his chest, "Wait,"

Sabrina paused as she glanced at him, "Yes?"

"What was that that you just did there?" said Jake, disbelief began to cloud his mind, as if he was trying to interpret something that wasn't making sense, "just now...you brushed his hand, why would you do that?"

"Jake I-,"

_You Shall Be Betrayed..._Neadra's voice whispered within his head, it echoed against the crashing tide.

"You," said Jake in disbelief, he glanced at Fu, he was a loyal friend who only wanted what was best for his master, he glanced at Nigel Thrall, he was never committed to Jake in any way except as friends, and even though he was a traitor, he had yet to actively move against him. However.

"You're Adren's spy," whispered Jake in disbelief.

Sabrina's face lost its plea for innocence and turned instantly into a mask of anger, "You stupid boy!" she screamed at him violently, notching an arrow on her bow her aim was at his heart in an instant.

Jake leapt back a few feet, entering dragon form. She let loose the arrow and Jake batted it aside with his wing, "You're the one who would betray me!"

Sabrina sneered at him, "I have betrayed _no one_! My loyalty has been to Adren this whole time!"

Realization dawned on him once more and he dodged another arrow, her earlier request to go on this quest was never for Rose, it was her love for Adren Karr. She mentioning her liking someone whom she thought that he and Rose would not approve of, Adren Karr. Her strong desire to keep all the ingredients and her focus on their goal at all times; Sabrina's talk of Rose was always actually about Adren. It had always been about Adren.

"Stop this!" said Nigel, his voice boomed with magically amplified strength, "this is not the time to be fighting!"

Jake and Sabrina both stopped in their attack of each other.

Nigel sighed and folded his arms in annoyance, "We both had an agreement and it still stands, if you want to save Rose's life I would advise that you both cease and desist, share what needs to be shared and allow each other to leave,"

Sabrina lowered her bow, her eyes were lowered, "I guess you're right,"

Jake's breathing was heavy, he was fighting the urge to attack Sabrina with every ounce of power that he had. Her betrayal was the most painful, she was with him during the time when Adren had kidnapped Rose two years prior, she was with him for the past two weeks trying to save the woman that he loved—Sabrina's BEST FRIEND, from death. He calmed himself, "Agreed,"

Adren Karr was quiet through the entire fiasco, his eyes bore through Jake's very soul as he took the ingredients into his hand and waved his hand in farewell, "In the end American Dragon, I will always be the victor,"

Sabrina tossed the ingredients and the vile of Adren's blood onto the floor and gave him a silent salute, "I'm sorry Jake, I never meant to hurt you or Rose,"

Jake felt a tear running down his cheek as magic enveloped his archenemy, his former mentor and his former friend, "Too late," he whispered.

They disappeared in a cloud of smoke, a whisper of magic that transported them to another location in an instant. Jake had long before he could master the magic of instant transportation.

Fu was quiet for the entire time. His face still registered shock from the entire situation, "She was helping us for so long," he stammered.

Jake picked up the ingredients and the vile of blood, "Come on Fu, let's get to Rose," he said softly cutting off the Animal Guardian's words, his heart was heavy with pain from a betrayal that he could never have foreseen.


	31. A Flower Dies

JAKE FINALLY REACHES ROSE! Sad Romantic Chapter! Read and Review Please!...

**Chapter XXXI: A Flower Dies**

Jake landed softly at the encampment, the expression on the other dragons' faces was that of complete shock. He was in dragon form, as far as anyone knew he was still an exile, unable to utilize his chi. His sister was the most surprised, and yelped in disbelief.

He saw his grandfather, Haley and Fred Nerk standing by a tent that he recognized at the medical one. Both Nerk and his grandfather held sober expressions.

Jake felt a cold dread fill his stomach, "Is she?" he started, unable to finish.

Lao Shi shook his head, and Nerk pushed the tent open just a bit. He could see someone standing over a makeshift bed within the tent. Jake swallowed difficultly as he walked forward.

Fu Dog slid off his back and walked over to the former Chinese dragon. He glanced at his old friend and nodded slowly.

"Where's Sabrina?" said Lao Shi in a hushed tone, "is she alright?"

Jake ignored the question and entered the tent. The person standing over Rose was his cousin, Gregory Hill. He looked a bit less steady than usual, but the newly dragon powered youth ignored that as well.

"You look like hell," muttered Gregory in mock annoyance.

Jake glanced at him from the corner of his eye, "Yea, you too," he reverted to human form.

"Glad to see that your powers are back," said Hill.

Jake stepped closer to Rose, realising that she was barely holding consciousness, "My love," he said softly, it pained him to see her this way, he stretched his hand out to touch her hand. Her skin was cold and pasty, as if life itself was robbed of her. A thin line of blood ran from her mouth, it seemed that one of her internal organs had ruptured, leaving her bloody from the inside out.

His heart was tearing apart.

"Babe," he said softly.

Her eyes blinked open weakly, "Jake?"

"I'm here Rose," he said, kissing her cheek tenderly, "and I have everything that will help save your life,"

She shook her head sadly, "I'm too far gone Jake," she coughed harshly, blood bubbled forth once more, her eyes were glazed over with a black tar like liquid.

"No, no, no," he whispered, pulling the ingredients out and mixing them together.

"Jake," she said strongly, "Jake,"

He was mixing the spell's properties together in a small mixer as he stopped, "What is it?"

"I love you," she said softly.

Jake swore, "Stop it Rose, stop it, stop it, and stop it. Don't say that, this isn't farewell," he held the odd red-tinted liquid before her lips, "drink it,"

She blinked again, "I just want you to know, I love-,"

Jake blinked back tears, "Drink it!" he almost screamed.

Gregory touched his shoulder softly and painfully made his way out of the tent, granting them privacy.

Rose forced her lips to part and allowed the red liquid to pour into her mouth, painfully absorbing through her chopped throat. She coughed harshly as some of the cure fell on her chest. She inhaled sharply as her body began to fight the concoction that had entered it. Her skin literally vibrated with magic as Jake took a step back; then she suddenly stopped abruptly as she let out one anguished cry.

"Rose!" Jake shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders.

She glanced at him with tearful eyes, "I'm sorry Jake," she let out a breath and with it her life-force gave way.

Jake screamed in anguish, as he felt his blood blaze with insatiable madness, the magic of Eli Pandarus coiled uncontrollably through his skin, sending tendrils of blue bolts of lightning all over his hands and arms, "I refuse to allow you to die! I refuse! I refuse! I refuse!"

Lao Shi rushed into the tent, Fu Dog, Fred Nerk and Gregory at his heels, "Jake! Control yourself and your magic! Rose is gone,"

Jake let loose another anguished cry and gave way to tears, allowing the magic and anger to dissipate into nothingness, he rested his head on Rose's chest and allowed his tears to soak into her clothes. He couldn't handle it anymore, he couldn't handle all that he had undergone to save her life and yet in a single instant she was gone. He had risked his life, his sanity and all that he had to save her. Jake had done everything within his power that he could have done and yet her life was still lost. His mission was a failure; his one simple task was for naught. He had lost the one thing he wished to save above all else.

"I," he sobbed, "love, you, Rose," his vision blurred from the tears that blinded him.

He felt a reassuring hand rest on his head, "I love you too Jake,"

His heart skipped a beat as he shot up, blinking the tears out of his eyes his breath caught within his throat, "Rose?" he couldn't believe his eyes, she was sitting there calmly, life again vividly captivating her eyes, "how? What?"

The young woman rolled her eyes, "Shut up and kiss me dummy, don't ask questions till after,"

Jake didn't need to be told twice as he almost jumped onto her, his lips touched hers in an almost explosive jolt, he felt Eli's magic respond almost beautifully with her touch, something that it had never done before, sending current through his entire being, through his heart and through his blood. He pulled away a moment later, breathless and shocked at the experience, "That never happened before," he said softly.

"No," said Rose coyly, "it never did," she patted his head gently again.

"The key is death," said Lao Shi softly from behind.

Jake turned to face him, "What do you mean?"

The older dragon cleared his throat, "Even if the all the ingredients were procured, in the end, she would still have to die for but a moment for her body to heal what was necessary,"

Both Rose and Jake frowned, but refused to let go of each other, "English please?" they said in unison.

Fu titled his head, "In end, Rose was gonna die either way, but the ingredients allowed her death to be only temporary, each part was necessary for that end. The Petals from the High Mayus will ease the passage of death and open a chance of life; the horn of the Grande Unicorn is eternal, granting them the return to life; the sand from the Ocean's Riff allows re-entry to this plane of existence and life, by the blessing of the Being of Beyond, the blood of the one who invoked the curse, allows them to find their way back to their singular existence. Rose was going to have to die to live,"

Jake used his other hand to touch her cheek gently, "I don't care if she died, I'm just happy that she's alive again," his finger tingled with electricity on making contact with her skin, "I love you,"

Rose smiled back at him softly, "I love you too Jake,"

**I dedicate this chapter to Xia. Her Love IS my Life. She's my Rose. I love you Xi. ^_^**


	32. Darkness Is On The Horizon

**FINAL CHAPTER! Epilogue to come! ^_^ Please read and review! MY apologizes for the late update, person issues kept me back.**

**JR2**

**Chapter XXXII: Darkness Is On the Horizon**

The entire group were silent as Jake recounted his two week journey to them. Among those congregated were Commanders Fred Nerk, Lao Shi, and Sun Park who had recovered enough to sit with them, Lieutenants Haley Long, Gregory Hill, and the newly established Lieutenant Rose.

Jake had been granted the rank of commander and the 15-Year Sentence revoked indefinitely, however he turned down the order to lead. He knew that at the moment he had something far more important to do that lead the armies of the Allied Dragon and Wizard forces.

All in attendance were shocked at Sabrina Khan's betrayal, and even more so at the fact that Nigel Thrall had sided with their forces.

"It was Thrall that I had seen when Reisha and I had been discovered," said Sun softly, she had a tear in her eye, "the poor soul, I thought he was fighting for us in the Northen Fortes,"

Fred's brows were knitted in frustration, "This undoubtedly means that they are under the control of the Dark Armada," he sighed, "even more work for us now,"

"In the end we must retreat from South America," said Lao Shi, "we've lost it to the Dark Armada in totality,"

"Our fights will take us to the Caribbean, Africa and perhaps even Australia," muttered Haley.

Fred's eyes grew distant, "My homeland,"

Rose was quiet throughout the entire ordeal, at the moment that she realized that Sabrina was missing; she wondered where her best friend had disappeared. It was with both shock and repulsion that she realized that she had become a full blown traitor and consort to the enemy. Within her heart she mourned her friend's absence, like that of one who passed away in death.

"Where will you be going now Jake?" asked Haley.

Rose glanced at the man that she loved, aching to be able to kiss him, but knowing full well that at the moment that would have been inappropriate. She sighed to herself as she ignored the pain within her heart. At least she had Jake.

"I will be going on another journey," said Jake cryptically.

Rose raised an eyebrow, Jake hadn't told her anything about that, she tried to catch his eyes, but he averted his gaze. She knew what that meant and felt a torrent of anger well up within her chest.

"Where to?" said Fred.

"I don't know," admitted Jake ruefully.

"For how long then?" asked Gregory with a lopsided grin.

"I don't know either," admitted Jake again.

"Uhuh," said Haley, "so? Then why are you-,"

"I need to fulfil a promise I made to a certain Grand Unicorn, to find someone who can teach me to tame this dark magic," he said softly, he opened his palm and concentrated briefly, allowing the magic to flow into his hand. It sparked and brought forth a small ball of fire, "this is an incredible power, but also an amazing curse, without the proper training," the small ball of fire exploded into a vast firestorm that subsided in an instant, the young dragon closed his palm tightly feeling dark energies swirl around his fingertips, "without the proper training I'll become an even greater threat than Adren Karr himself,"

He paused for an instant, and glanced at the faces of all those present, finally locking eyes with Rose, "If I am to have any hope of assisting in this war, I must train first, train to tame these powers. Only then will accept the rank of Commander,"

Rose felt her eyes begin to water, and blinked back the tears. She knew what was going to come next, she knew what his next words were going to be, she bit her tongue to prevent herself from speaking out against him.

"I have to go on this journey alone,"

That got an immediate uproar from those gathered.

"Are you crazy?"

"What do you mean alone?"

"How do you expect to do this without our help?"

"I'm going with you cousin, regardless of what you say,"

The last sentence was from Gregory Hill, who had in the past two years begun to almost worship his older cousin's escapades. Finally maturing to the point of truly respecting the original American Dragon.

Jake smiled, realizing that he couldn't fight his cousin's decision, "Very well, only Cousin Greggy will be going with me,"

Everyone glanced at Rose, waiting to hear her response.

"I understand Jake," she said softly, she was still too weak to fight or travel, and Jake needed to depart as soon as possible, that was why he held her in his embrace so strongly the night before. That was why he kissed her so passionately up to even a moment ago. He knew that he would be stuck leaving her behind once more. She forced herself to grin, and clicked her teeth together, "But you better realize Dragon Boy, that this is the LAST TIME I'm letting you out of my sight! When you finish your "training" the two of us will be near inseparable,"

Jake managed a smile, "That's a deal Rose,"

"Good," she muttered, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand, "cause if you don't I'll skin you myself,"

That forced a laugh from everyone.

Jake glanced to the west, where the enemy was encamped, "We have lost this battle, this continent, but we will still win this war," he looked at all present once again, stopping this time at his grandfather, "there is darkness on the horizon, and he is very much ready to destroy us all,"

X

Adren Karr sat upon his throne, his blood screamed with power beyond that which he had ever wielded before. Yet, he alone knew that its burst was temporary, he and his two most trusted commanders, Nigel Thrall and his second in command.

Nigel stood before him; his eyes were distant, as if seeing something far off into the future.

"What do you see Thrall?" said Karr.

Nigel shrugged as his eyes lost its glimmer, "Nothing but mayhem my lord,"

Adren nodded in satisfaction.

The transmission area before the two wizards shimmered into existence as his second in command appeared before them, "You summoned me my lord?"

Adren smiled, "Yes my good friend, I have word that the Dragons are retreating, they have surrendered South America to us, their forces have split apart into a gathered force for the Caribbean and the brunt of it to Africa to support Kulde and his dragons,"

Samuel Stone inhaled softly, "What is your will my lord?"

The Dark Hunter thought for a moment, "The complete annihilation of all the dragons who refuse to submit to me,"

Stone nodded, "Then it shall be done my lord, my forces and I shall strike out at every dragon that dare defy you until there are no more,"

The High Wizard shook his head, "That would be too simple, too easy a task for you my faithful one. I have the power now, and I shall use it to grant myself the strength of the Blade of the Wizard, the one artefact that can seal our destiny as this Earth's true saviours,"

Nigel cleared his throat, "Then our next objective should be that fabled weapon,"

Adren Karr clasped his hands together as he smiled, "It has been my objective from the very start,"

"And one we have control of this weapon of legend?" said Samuel Stone.

Bolts of lightning tingled around Adren Karr's hands, "I shall hold this pitiful Earth in the palm of my hand, all creatures shall bow to me, for all eternity!"


	33. Epilogue

My sincerest apologies for the lack of updates for the past few months, but I was dealing with some emotional issues that have since then (not been rectified properly) are now manageable and thus shall be updating my stories once more. I want to complete my BLOOD THAT BINDS US before posting BLADE OF THE WIZARD, so look forward to a March/April release for Blade of the Wizard. Thanking you once again for your consideration and support.

JR2

**XX**

**The Wizard War: The Thousand Year Curse**

**Epilogue**

**Rose felt her heart churn in almost tempestuous agony as her boyfriend and his cousin became a speck on the horizon. She understood completely the necessity for his departure, and the fact that she couldn't go along with him on this journey. But she was determined to not only become well enough to join him, but also made a quiet promise to never be apart from him again.**

"**He'll be okay Rose," said Fred Nerk, who stood a few feet behind her.**

"**I know," she replied softly, "it just feels as if this will be the last time I'm going to see him,"**

**Fred cleared his throat, "Your fear is understandable, with this war, who knows who will survive, and we may all end up having to lay down our lives to protect the magical community and the world in general,"**

"**True," whispered Rose, her jaw was clenched in determination, "but I will definitely survive, for Jake's sake,"**

**Fred laughed, "And with your warning I know he'll survive too,"**

**Rose snuffed a laugh, "True again,"**

"**I'm going to check on Serra," said Fred.**

**Jake's girlfriend nodded as Fred walked away, **_**You both make a great couple**_** she thought to herself.**

**She grimaced in pain as she stretched out her arm. Ever since her...**_**resurrection**_** as it were, her right hand and arm was feeling a bit ticklish. It tingled as if pins and needles were trying to come out from her flesh, eating at the inside out. At first she had been fearful that the curse had returned, but the sensation that rippled through her body was different and totally unique. It was something that she had never felt or experienced before in all her time as the Huntsgirl, Guardian Knight or even near death.**

**Focusing on the pain in her hand her eyes widened as small sparks of blue electricity danced across the palm of her hand, "this is..."**

**Magic.**

_**I can command magic.**_

**THE END**

**CONTINUED:**

**...BLADE OF THE WIZARD...**

**"Weapons are forged of steel, blood and…magic." **

**JakeRoss2**


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